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Guardian ad Litem seeks $189,415 to move accounting support to ANI

Wyoming Joint Appropriations Committee · January 8, 2026

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Summary

Joe Belcher told the committee the Wyoming Office of Guardian ad Litem needs $189,415 to mirror an accounting analyst position into ANI for the 2027–28 biennium, shifting fiscal support to centralized services while raising questions about preserving local-match funding.

Joe Belcher, director of the Wyoming Office of Guardian ad Litem, presented a compact budget and a single exception request to Joint Appropriations: transfer of an accounting analyst position to the state accounting service provider (ANI) for $189,415 in the 2027–28 biennium.

Belcher said the agency represents roughly 2,300 juveniles in 2025 and maintains about 1,200 active cases on an average day. The move to ANI is intended to leverage professional fiscal services for a small agency that recently separated from the Office of State Public Defender.

Legislators asked whether the transfer would forfeit the local-match portion of funding. Director Hibbert and ANI accounting staff said the transaction can be mirrored and footnoted so local governments are billed their share, preserving the 80/20 general‑fund/local split where appropriate. Committee members asked staff to propose language or a footnote ensuring the local match is preserved when the budget flows to ANI.

The committee did not act on appropriations during the hearing; staff agreed to follow up with recommended footnote language and accounting mechanics.