Department of Finance requests six IT and examiner positions; governor omits two investigator roles

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Department of Finance presented its fiscal year 2026 budget request to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, asking for six full-time positions and $816,600 from state regulatory funds to expand IT examination and investigative capacity.

The request, presented by Noah Peterson of the Legislative Services Office, would add specialists for IT examination across the Financial Institutions Bureau, Consumer Finance Bureau and Securities Bureau. Peterson told the committee the package includes two IT-focused investigator positions, two financial examiners (one IT-focused), an IT examiner dedicated to financial institutions and a forensic accounting specialist for securities work, plus $52,600 in one-time Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) hardware costs.

The why: the agency and several legislators said the hires are meant to counter growing cybercrime and complex financial fraud, including scams targeting older Idahoans. "There is a huge increase in cybercrime," Department of Finance Director Patty Perkins told the committee, adding that her office has focused on elder fraud cases and partnered with ISP and other law enforcement to "follow the money." Perkins described examples of elderly residents being swindled through phones and computers and said some cases require crypto-specific expertise.

The budget detail: Peterson said the department currently has 72 authorized full-time positions under a single program and draws nearly all operations from state regulatory funds. The agency reported that roughly 77.8% of FY2024 expenditures were for personnel and 21% for operating costs. The FY2026 enhancement package would cost $816,600 ongoing and is broken down by position: an IT examiner at salary grade P ($121,300 at 100% of policy), a financial examiner at grade P ($121,300), two financial investigator 3 positions budgeted at salary grade M ($82,500 each), a securities examiner with cybersecurity specialty (grade M, $82,500) and a securities forensic accountant (grade M, $82,500). One-time capital outlay of $52,600 is for laptops, docking stations and portable field monitors recommended by OITS.

Governor's recommendation and next steps: Peterson told the committee the governor recommended all the listed items except the two financial investigator 3 positions for the Consumer Finance Bureau. No formal committee vote occurred during the hearing; the presentation was informational and committee members requested follow-up data.

Committee questions and follow-up requests: Senators asked for concrete workload and outcome measures to justify the new FTPs. Senator Wintrow praised the agency's elder-fraud work and asked for case examples and metrics; Senator Cook asked for baseline data to measure return on investment if the positions are approved. Director Perkins agreed to provide additional information to the committee and said the department will work with the Legislative Services Office to assemble more tangible workload figures.

Background on funds and prior changes: Peterson reviewed that the department operates on three dedicated funds including a mortgage recovery fund and a securities investing/training fund, each statutorily limited to limited annual usage (the presentation cited a $50,000 authorized annual use for the mortgage recovery and securities training funds). The department added three positions in FY2024 and netted two new FTPs after moving HR staff to the division of human resources.

No formal actions were taken on the floor during the presentation; the committee asked the agency for supplemental data to accompany the enhancement request before any appropriation decision.