(Harrisburg) -- The newly-funded state Independent Fiscal Office is taking on some staffers. Matthew Knittel, director of the IFO, has announced two key hires. Knittel says the IFO website will eventually be up and running so it’s not just legislators with access to independent information about the state’s economic outlook. "And then apply some analysis for the general public so they understand how the economics both at the national and the state level are affecting the budget of the state and perhaps their personal circumstances," Knittel says. The office staff is currently a modest three people, but Knittel says he expects the team to expand to include as many as 12 analysts within the next six months. And they’ll have plenty to do: state law requires the office to hold a revenue estimating conference by the end of January. By that time, the IFO also plans to release a five-year fiscal outlook for the state. The department was created in 2010 to provide economic and budgetary analysis to state lawmakers looking for information that doesn’t come out of the executive branch.