Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
JFAC hears Department of Finance request for six IT/cyber examiner positions and $816,600
Summary
The Department of Finance told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee it is requesting six full‑time positions and $816,600 from state regulatory funds for fiscal 2026 to boost IT and cybersecurity examination capacity; the governor recommended all but two of the requested positions.
Noah Peterson, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, and Patty Perkins, director of the Department of Finance, presented the department's fiscal 2026 base review and enhancement requests to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 21.
The Department of Finance is asking for six ongoing full‑time positions and $816,600 from state regulatory funds for FY2026 to expand examination and investigative capacity with a particular emphasis on information technology and cybersecurity. The request would add IT‑focused examiners in the Financial Institutions Bureau and consumer and securities examiners with IT and forensic accounting specialties, Peterson told the committee while walking through the agency's budget book pages.
The department has 72 full‑time personnel and houses the Financial Institutions Bureau, the Consumer Finance Bureau and the Securities Bureau under a single program, Perkins said. The agency funds its operations primarily from state regulatory funds—fees collected from examinations, assessments, filing fees, forfeitures and fines—while separate limited funds cover mortgage recovery and investor education activities.
Peterson told the committee that the department spends above 90% of its appropriation on average and that personnel costs comprised about 77.8% of total expenditures in FY2024 with operating at about 21% and capital outlay at 1.2 percent. He detailed the FY2026 enhancement package, including the positions and salary assumptions used in the request: an IT examiner and a financial examiner for the Financial Institutions Bureau budgeted at $121,300 each (100% of policy for salary grade P); two financial investigator 3 positions focused on IT examination budgeted at $82,500 each (salary grade M); a securities bureau investigator with a cybersecurity specialty and a forensic accounting specialist budgeted at $82,500 (salary grade M); and one‑time capital outlay for field laptops, docking stations and portable monitors recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services totaling $52,600.
Perkins told the committee the department has seen a rise in fraud and cybercrime, and that investigations frequently target elderly Idahoans. "There is a huge increase in cybercrime," Perkins said. "We have a particular concern about the elderly population in the state." She described partnerships with the Idaho State Police and other law‑enforcement entities and said the department's current investigation staff is small and needs growth to address fintech and crypto‑related fraud and other schemes.
Senator Wintrow and Senator Cook asked for stronger, measurable data to justify the new positions and recommended that the department provide workload statistics and outcome metrics to permit later evaluation. Peterson and Perkins agreed to supply additional supporting data and casework examples to the committee. Peterson said some supporting cybersecurity damage estimates would come from federal sources such as the FBI and that the director could provide more tangible workload information.
Peterson noted the governor recommended all of the department's FY2026 items except for the two financial investigator 3 positions listed as line item 3 (the two IT‑focused investigator positions for the Consumer Finance Bureau), which the governor did not recommend.
The agency also described two limited funds with statutory restrictions: the mortgage recovery fund and the securities investing/training fund, each statutorily limited to using up to $50,000 per year for administration and investor education, respectively.
No formal appropriation or vote occurred during the presentation. Committee members asked for follow‑up information and metrics to demonstrate return on investment if the committee considers the positions during budget deliberations.
Perkins introduced Deputy Director Anthony Polidori and said the department supports the governor's recommended budget overall even though it requested additional positions. Peterson and Perkins stood for questions through the conclusion of the agency presentation.
