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Idaho Public Television seeks vehicle and $300,000 network replacement; lawmakers press for plan
Summary
Idaho Public Television requested funding to replace a heavy-duty pickup and a $300,000 one-time package to update aging network-operations servers and automation equipment; lawmakers asked for an itemized plan and clarification of state vs. nonprofit funding responsibilities.
Idaho Public Television told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 15 it needs $42,400 (per the budget cap) to replace a heavy-duty field service truck and a governor-proposed $300,000 one-time appropriation to replace end-of-life network-operations hardware that supports content delivery and the emergency-alert capability.
Jared Tatro of the Legislative Services Office presented the requests and deferred technical questions to Jeff Tucker, general manager of Idaho Public Television. Tucker said the field truck (currently a Ford F-350 used to reach mountaintop transmitters in northern Idaho) has accumulated roughly 34,000 miles in rough service and that standard state replacement rates may understate the actual cost of a heavy-duty diesel truck for mountain use. He said if the replacement succeeds the agency would likely auction the old truck and use general fund allotment prudently to help bridge any additional cost.
On the $300,000 request for network operations, Tucker said the money would pay to replace proprietary automation servers, Windows OS servers and devices that control recording, playback, routing and video switching used to send programming to the station’s five statewide channels. "Our Windows Media or our Windows servers are about 4 years out of date," Tucker said. He called the current system "on an island"—not connected to the internet for security—but said the equipment is no longer patchable and is hard to maintain.
Committee members pressed for an itemized plan. Senator Cook and others said the listed vehicle-replacement cap (often set by the budget manual) may be insufficient to buy a heavy-duty, diesel, two-door truck that can reliably access mountaintop sites in winter. Tucker agreed the truck market presents challenges and said the agency will provide a procurement plan and that it already has a ten-year replacement plan identifying multiple systems that will need coordinated replacement.
Representative Tanner asked how the nonprofit "Friends of Idaho Public Television" funds and the state general fund separate responsibilities for capital items and staff. Tucker said general-fund expenditures are fully visible in state accounting, while the nonprofit side pays for content; he said the agency has tried to make the firewall between public and private funding clear and that the ten-year plan will show which items the private side (content) will pay for and which infrastructure the state pays for.
No formal action was taken at the hearing. Committee members asked for a procurement-level plan and for the agency to provide more detailed, itemized information about the $300,000 package before the committee considers the request.
