Idaho State Liquor Division outlines budget, seeks targeted IT and staffing investments

Kelvin McGurkin, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented the Idaho State Liquor Division’s FY2024 financial summary and FY2026 budget requests to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

McGurkin told the committee the division distributed $118.3 million in FY2024. That total included a 2% surcharge on liquor sales that provided about $6.7 million to the court services fund; after the division accounts for operating costs and required fund balances, available funds are split so roughly half is distributed to cities, counties and magistrate courts (about $56.3 million) and the remainder is used for fixed statutory distributions, Peace Officer Standards and Training, and transfers to the general fund.

The division reported $319.1 million in total sales in FY2024, with operating costs representing about 63% ($202 million) and reported net income of $116.6 million. McGurkin said the division’s free fund balance declined from about $38 million in FY2022 to $14 million in FY2024, attributing the decline to higher-margin direct-to-consumer COVID-era sales that have since been spent down.

Andrew Arulinand…