HELENA - A legislative subcommittee has recommended that Amy Carlson, an assistant director in the governor's budget office, be hired as the top legislative fiscal analyst for the state.

The full Legislative Finance Committee, by conference call Monday, will vote on the recommendation, said Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena, de facto chairman of the four-member subcommittee that recommended Carlson for the job.

The legislative fiscal analyst, who heads the Legislative Fiscal Division and is employed by the Legislature, is one of the highest-profile officials in state government and sometimes emerges as a leading critic of a governor's proposed budget and revenue projections.

Carlson was the consensus choice of the panel, which interviewed six finalists, including three current Legislative Fiscal Division analysts, Hollenbaugh said. It recommended paying her a base salary of $102,000 a year.

If approved, Carlson will succeed Clayton Schenck as the fifth legislative fiscal analyst in state history since the office was created in 1975. Schenck, who is retiring Dec. 31, held the post for more than 16 years and worked for the legislative branch for 25 years.

Hollenbaugh said he's confident that Carlson can fulfill the office's role as watchdog of the governor's proposals, although she is coming from the governor's budget office.

"She's got to ride for our brand, the legislative brand now, but in a way that isn't hostile," he said. "It was getting hostile, and it wasn't Clayton's fault."

Hollenbaugh said traditionally there is "a rub," or tension, between the Legislative Fiscal Division and the governor's budget office.

"That's inherent in the system, and that's a good thing," Hollenbaugh said. "(The fiscal analyst office) points out the problem areas. We want them to be independent. We all have one goal."

However, he added: "We don't need to be tearing each other's heads off. I'm hopeful should this hire be approved Monday that will start us down the path of being respectful."

He praised Carlson, saying, "Everybody knows she's brilliant, she's a good analyst, she's tough."

"I'm hoping her background with the agencies' budgets from the executive side will help regain some of the trust of the agencies so they don't think the analysis is turning into an ambush," Hollenbaugh said.

The job attracted only seven applicants initially, and a panel narrowed the field to three. Applications were opened again after officials learned there were problems with the electronic process.

In the end, only 13 people applied for the high-profile job.

"It's not an easy job," Hollenbaugh said. "You are in the center of the storm. It's your job to recognize the political pressures as well as the fiscal pressures that go along with getting any budget passed."

Carlson received a bachelor's degree in economics from Montana State University in 1982 and master's degree in business administration from Seattle University in 1992.

She worked as a transportation economist and pricing specialist for Totem Ocean Trailer Express in Seattle from 1986-92.

Carlson began working in the Montana governor's budget office in 1992 as an executive budget analyst. She moved up to a budget analyst II in 1996 and in 2003 was promoted to an assistant budget director and finance manager.