Idaho will continue to pay its governor a housing stipend because it still has no governor's mansion.
The Spokesman-Review reports Idaho is one of only six states without a mansion for its executive. A state committee decided Monday to continue paying a $4,500 monthly stipend to Gov. Butch Otter in lieu of housing.
The J.R. Simplot family donated a hilltop mansion for the purpose, but no governor ever lived there. It required extensive renovations and, when they were complete, Gov. Butch Otter declined to live there. He stays at his ranch in Star instead.
Because the maintenance costs associated with the donated mansion were depleting the state's mansion fund, it was returned to the Simplot family in 2013. It was demolished in January.