Betsy Russell reports Gov. Butch Otter’s budget recommendation for next year calls for zero funding for capital replacement items, but lawmakers are concerned that some equipment replacement needs are too critical to continue to overlook. “I worry about this infrastructure,” said Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, co-chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. “I feel responsible for letting everything fall apart.”
Examples: Roofs and HVAC systems need replacing at state ag research stations where researchers are working on seeds. Idaho Public TV workers must climb a 350-foot tower on an 8,000-foot mountaintop every year to replace a special lightbulb, because the agency can’t afford to switch to a longer-lasting fluorescent bulb that would last 10 years because of the replacement cost. The Idaho State School for the Deaf and Blind needs a school bus with a wheelchair lift that’ll cost $65,000. None of those were included in the governor’s proposed budget.
