BOISE — The state agency that manages the lifeblood of agriculture is facing the task of managing the same resource with fewer workers.
Gary Spackman, interim director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, gave his budget presentation on Wednesday to the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee.
Amid the downturn in state funding, IDWR has slashed its payroll by 48 employees in the past two fiscal years, a mix of 27 full-time jobs and 21 temporary jobs.
That includes administrative personnel, too.
“I am essentially trying to leave one layer of management open to reduce the impact on staff who are doing the work of the department,” Spackman told JFAC, noting that the agency has fewer than 200 employees.
With the recommended 7.5 percent budget holdbacks for this fiscal year, the agency is looking at losing $367,200 from its general fund, along with another reduction of $151,900.
The impact of state cuts includes four fewer people working on water rights, no administrator for water management, and employees taking on extra clerical and data-entry tasks.
Spackman didn’t discount the idea of fee changes, when Rep. Maxine Bell, co-chairwoman of JFAC, asked about the possibility.
“It concerns me the cuts that this economic downturn has put on your budget,” said Bell, R-Jerome. “Is your fee structure adequate? … Is there any way there can be more income derived?”
Spackman said there are some areas that don’t generate much revenue.
“There are some functions we perform that take a lot of effort for which we receive almost no fees,” he said.
For example, when people submit applications to file a water right with the agency’s bank, there is no fee. Those applications have increased, too, Spackman said.
There also aren’t any fees for dam safety inspections, he said.
“Those are just some examples where fees could be increased,” Spackman said. Bell noted that the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation is facing fee increases.
“If we’re going to look at more of a fee for our state parks, it appears that this is an area too,” she said of IDWR.
All the cuts proposed for this fiscal year and fiscal year 2011 amount to a reduction of 24.6 percent, Spackman said.
At the same time, though, the agency is also focusing on long-term plans. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has recommended $1 million in federal stimulus for the next budget to go toward the Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan. The state’s water board recently approved putting $1.2 million in the payments coming from the Pristine Springs agreement toward CAMP as well.
Approved in 2009 as part of the state’s water plan, CAMP has an estimated cost of $70 million to $100 million during its first decade to pay for recharge, ground-to-surface water conversions and other projects.
A one-time contribution from the water board of $566,000 to IDWR’s general fund will help offset the impact, Spackman said. That funding will “reduce the impact on the staff and give the department some time to adjust to the 7.5 percent holdback,” he said.
Staff writer Ben Botkin may be reached at bbotkin@magicvalley.com.
