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Budget staff walk JFAC through decision units, benchmarks and agency structure in budget book
Summary
Analysts from Legislative Services Office reviewed how Idaho’s budget is built in six benchmarks, the concept of base adjustments, program maintenance and enhancements, and how agencies and self‑governing boards are organized in the budget book.
Jared Tetrault, deputy director and manager of Budget and Policy for the Legislative Services Office, summarized the budget-book front end and the state’s decision-unit, or “LEGO,” approach to building annual budgets.
Tetrault told the committee Idaho budgets are built across six benchmarks: (1) the original appropriation (what the legislature set last session), (2) midyear adjustments such as reappropriations and executive carry‑forward, (3) estimated expenditures for the current year, (4) base adjustments to remove one‑time items and incorporate reorganizations, (5) program maintenance (benefit changes, contract inflation, statewide cost allocations and compensation), and (6) the next fiscal year’s original appropriation. He said the bench‑mark structure helps keep policy decisions transparent and traceable as the committee composes program maintenance and enhancement bills.
Why it matters: the benchmark framing determines how staff and members will review agency requests, governor recommendations and any supplemental or reappropriation requests. Tetrault also walked members through how agencies are grouped into six functional areas (education, health & human services, public safety, natural resources, economic development and general government) and how self‑governing agencies and numerous divisions map onto the 20 executive departments defined by statute.
Practical note: Tetrault highlighted the fund‑by‑fund fund analysis, comparative reports and decision‑detail pages in the budget book and reminded members the entire front end and agency detail is available on SharePoint for review. He agreed to update the SharePoint package with a missing set of example pages requested by a senator.
