As the adage goes, “Where there is smoke, there is fire.” This appears to ring true regarding the misappropriation of public funds between Idaho State University (ISU) and Bannock County. Since the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s last article on the misuse of public funds, ISU has requested that Bannock County return the remaining balance, which they now claim has been reimbursed to the state per the terms of the appropriation. 

Originally, $853,700 was transferred from ISU to Bannock County. As of the end of December, only the unspent funds, totaling $684,817.68, had been returned to ISU. 

Now comes the interesting part. Whereas the County previously claimed the other $168,882.32 was spent legitimately on testing, lab equipment, consultation, and travel expenses, the Bannock County Commissioners voted on January 7, 2025, to issue ISU a reimbursement check for those purchases as well.

But is simply returning the funds enough? Probably not. Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld, who helped bring these problems to light, stated: 

The people of Idaho have a right to expect more from their leaders and institutions…We must demand full restitution, accountability, and meaningful reforms to protect taxpayer dollars. I will keep pushing for transparency and solutions that rebuild public trust in the management of taxpayer funds.

The Idaho Freedom Foundation agrees with Sen. Zuiderveld that there must be accountability for the misappropriation of taxpayer dollars in addition to returning the funds. Elected officials ought to be held to a higher standard as they govern, appropriate money, and set the tone of social/cultural trends. Accountability is primary in a republic. As Thomas Paine stated, “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” 

ISU and Bannock County appear to be going out of their way to make this go away without any real repercussions. But the Legislature, the Attorney General’s office, and ordinary Idahoans would be remiss to move forward without expecting accountability and answers.   

So, how did it get to this point in Bannock County, Idaho? Let’s look at a quick recap of the timeline.

Background Recap

In 2022, the Idaho Legislature appropriated, through House Bill 776, the use of $900,000 for operating expenses intended for the East Idaho Forensic Pathology Center (EIFPC). This appropriation, however, included clear stipulations on how the funds must be used for project operation expenditures and may only be spent up to June 30, 2023.

In October 2022, ISU and Bannock County signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the EIFPC. The appropriation bill (HB776) states, “Legislative appropriations shall not be transferred from one fund to another fund unless expressly approved by the Legislature.” Despite the wording in the bill, however, section 2 (g) of the Memorandum of Understanding reads in reference to the $900,000 of appropriated funds, “[A]ny balance of remaining funds will be allocated as pass through funding to Bannock County.”  

Of the original appropriation, $46,300 was spent by ISU and Bannock County on a study by the Smith Group regarding the design and cost of the EIFPC. The study was presented in early January 2023 and concluded that the cost of the forensic lab project would be significantly higher than first anticipated. 

Concerns were raised about the lab exceeding the proposed budget of $2 million by Commissioner John Crowder in a meeting. The question of continuing the project was put to a vote, and Crowder was outnumbered two to one, so plans for the EIFPC proceeded as the June 30, 2023, appropriation deadline approached. 

On April 17, 2023, merely two months before the appropriations deadline, an invoice was submitted by Bannock County to ISU for the remaining $853,700 of the appropriated funds. On April 20, 2023, the funds were transferred from ISU to Bannock County. 

Architectural plans were drawn up in July 2023, and several transactions were made from the $853,700 in the months that followed, totaling $168,882.32, leaving the balance of the funds at $684,817.68. 

In April 2024, the Bannock County Commissioners voted to cancel the forensic lab project; however, later that year on September 27, Bannock County Commissioner Jeff Hough proposed to revive the EIFPC and conduct a test with some of the appropriated funds. Commissioner Crowder warned the Board that “all the funds should have been sent back to the Legislature” upon termination of the project.  

On November 26, 2024, Sen. Zuiderveld revealed the possible misappropriation of public funds, calling for a legislative audit and full investigation by the Attorney General’s office. Also on November 26, the Idaho Freedom Foundation published an article about the potential malfeasance, calling into question the legitimacy of the spent funds and the transfer of funds to Bannock County. 

On December 10, 2024, the Bannock County Commissioners voted unanimously to request ISU to identify where the remaining unused funds were to be returned. 

On December 12, the Bannock County Commissioners voted to sign a Termination of Agreement and return the unspent funds, and finally, on December 13, 2024, ISU also signed. The Termination Agreement included: 

Return of All Previously Distributed Funds. Promptly following the Termination Date, and no later than 30 days after the Termination Date, Bannock County will return to ISU all unexpected funds provided to Bannock County by ISU in accordance with the MOU. Bannock County will provide a full accounting for any expended amounts and will reimburse ISU for any expenditures not made in accordance with the MOU or in alignment with Idaho House Bill 776.  

At some point, between December 13 and January 7, Bannock County returned the unspent $684,817.68. By the January 7 meeting, the commissioners also decided to reimburse the “legitimately spent” $168,882.32 to ISU as well with county funds. So as of last week, the $853,700 was sent back to ISU, and they promised to return the funds to the state.

On January 17, 2025, ISU issued this statement:  

We have taken action to resolve this matter and ensure that the funds are handled in accordance with legislative intent. Idaho State University submitted a mutual termination agreement of the MOU to Bannock County. Bannock County returned all transferred funding to ISU. ISU then returned $853,700 to the state, accounting for the amount spent on design consultation. 

ISU is committed to transparency and accountability of how this allocation was handled and the steps taken to address the situation.

To us, this whole process of transferring unspent funds to Bannock County, where they were used for various non-lab-related expenses, and the lack of clarity on when the funds were returned reeks of corruption and should not go unanswered.

It was only after they were caught and called out by former Commissioner Crowder that Bannock County stopped treating the appropriated money as a slush fund, and it was only after Sen. Zuiderveld, the whistle-blower group Pocatello for Accountable Government Entities, and the IFF demanded accountability that there was urgency to return the funds. Returning the funds to the state is an important step in righting this wrong; however, this demands more.

Idahoans deserve transparency regarding how their hard-earned money is spent. The public should be fully confident in accuracy and honesty when their tax dollars are appropriated.

The cavalier nature in which this situation has been dealt with by both ISU and Bannock County leaves a lot to be desired on the accountability front. Idahoan taxpayers want to know: Will the ISU administrators hold those who transferred the funds to Bannock County accountable? Will Bannock County hold Commissioner Moser and Commissioner Hough accountable? Finally, how do we ensure this misappropriation of public funds does not happen again, and will the state of Idaho take decisive action in this situation?