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Commission for the Blind seeks vehicle and client‑service funding; warns small holdbacks affect surgeries
Summary
The Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired asked JFAC for ongoing increases to cover client services and one‑time replacement items (two vehicles); the administrator said small holdbacks would reduce site‑restoration surgeries and client services.
The Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired presented its FY27 budget request to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee, asking for $62,700 ongoing for client‑service increases and a $65,001 one‑time request from the Adaptive Aids and Appliances Fund to replace two vehicles used by counselors for in‑home visits.
Analyst Brooke Dupree told the committee the Commission provides vocational rehabilitation and independent living services and that the largest dedicated fund, the Adaptive Aids and Appliances Fund (sourced from the agency store), has had total appropriation/expense levels "hovering around $6,000,000 to $7,000,000" in recent years. Dupree said the Commission had 43.12 authorized FTPs and, as of February, no vacancies.
Beth Cunningham, the Commission's administrator, said the requested vehicle replacements would allow counselors to continue client visits without asking for general‑fund money: "We are requesting to increase that appropriation so that we can use that money to purchase, in this case maintenance vehicles," she told the committee. Cunningham added the agency provided about 50 surgeries last year to restore or prevent blindness and emphasized that commission payments for surgery are need‑based and limited to individuals with no other insurance.
On budget holdbacks, Cunningham said staff used salary savings to offset earlier rescissions but that FY27 holdbacks would reduce line items supporting site restoration by about $10,000 and reduce vocational rehabilitation client services and operations funding by roughly $13,000 each. She said the agency will reduce travel and in‑person oversight to absorb those cuts.
Committee members asked for updated expenditure figures and explanations of mismatches between the analyst slides and the budget book; Dupree said she would follow up. The committee did not vote on the requests and moved on to the Idaho State Historical Society presentation.
