Endowment Fund board asks for raises for two investment staff; governor declines pay increases

At a Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee budget hearing, the Endowment Fund Investment Board told legislators it seeks $100,000 in additional compensation to increase salaries for two senior investment staff, while the governor's recommendation left those raises out of the proposed budget.

Janet Jessup, Budget and Policy Analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the Endowment Fund Investment Board manages a range of funds established in Idaho code, including land grant endowments and funds used by other agencies, and that the board requested a compensation enhancement for two staff members as part of its FY 2026 request.

The request: Thomas Wilford, chairman of the board, and Chris Anton, the board's manager of investments, described the increase as a longstanding adjustment the board has attempted to make. Wilford said the enhancement dates to when Anton was hired and that the board believes replacing senior staff would cost more. “If we had to replace him someday, that we would have to pay more than we're paying him,” Wilford told the committee. Anton added, “He’s been in the same pay grade the whole time,” referring to another long‑tenured deputy investment officer.

Jessup summarized the board’s formal request for FY 2026 as including a $100,000 compensation package to increase salaries for two employees, plus smaller items — roughly $1,200 for general inflation and a one‑time $4,900 request for hardware recommended by the Office of Information Technology. She also noted past, smaller enhancements: the board moved money into personnel in 2022 and 2023 for raises and requested other adjustments in subsequent years.

The governor’s office and human resources analysis did not recommend the requested compensation increases. In testimony before the committee, “Miss Wolfe” (state budget/division staff, role not specified in the record) said Division of Human Resources found the deputy chief investment officer was “close to policy rate for his pay grade” and that many state pay grades are not competitive with the private market. She said the governor’s recommendation instead supports the board’s requests for general inflation adjustments and the technical hardware request, but not the compensation enhancement.

Anton told the committee the board’s compensation committee and board recommended the raises and that board representatives had met with the governor’s office and DHR, but no final agreement had been reached. Anton and Wilford explained the board’s rationale: the investment office’s responsibilities have grown as the funds it manages have expanded. Anton said the office now manages “about $5,000,000,000” across the endowment fund and other mandates, and that the scope and complexity of staff duties have increased since some incumbents were hired.

The committee did not take a vote during the hearing. Committee members asked the board chair to attend and explain the recommendation and pressed for reasons tied to turnover risk and private‑market competition. The board said it accepts the governor’s recommendations but continued to support its pay proposals.

The Endowment Fund Investment Board’s staff present included Cathy Van Vactor (fiscal officer) and Tom Wilford (board chair). Janet Jessup and staff from the Legislative Services Office provided the budget analysis.

The committee moved on to other items after the exchange; no formal appropriation changes were decided during this hearing.