Committee reviews POST budget: requests to convert part-time records specialist and replace aging vehicles and IT equipment

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 received the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) budget presentation, which outlined operating pressures, a request to convert a part-time technical records specialist to a permanent role, and capital-replacement needs.

Brad Johnson, administrator of POST, told the committee the division requests a technical records specialist conversion (a net 0.33 FTP and $20,800 in personnel costs) to reduce turnaround for certifications, which have grown from typical 2–4 weeks several years ago to peak times of three to six months. He also described replacement-item requests including a 15-passenger van (acquired 2001, 47,000 miles) and a half-ton pickup (acquired 2013, 127,000 miles), plus $61,600 in IT replacement items recommended by OITS (laptops, desktops and monitors).

Why it matters: POST certifies officers statewide, oversees training standards and maintains the certification and decertification processes the state uses for multiple law-enforcement disciplines. Changes to POST funding and operations influence academy capacity, certification timelines, and training costs for agencies across Idaho.

Noah Peterson, the Legislative Services Office budget analyst who presented the POST slides, summarized revenue sources for the POST fund: a $15 court fee on certain violations, filing and educational fees, dormitory/facility fees, and a statutory liquor-transfer provision enacted by House Bill 469 (2022) that provided 1.5% of annual liquor revenue transfers to POST beginning in fiscal 2023. Peterson said POST received $620,000 from the liquor transfer in fiscal 2023 and $804,300 in 2024. He also noted POST has relied on periodic one-time general fund transfers in recent years when dedicated-fund revenue fell short.

Brad Johnson explained the rise in "miscellaneous revenue" collections: students who receive state-paid training sign two-year service agreements; if they leave the profession within that period, POST pursues repayment. The agency has moved such unpaid obligations to collection agencies, and that change increased recovered revenues.

Johnson and POST staff also discussed enrollment trends. POST does not recruit officers but trains officers sent by agencies; patrol academy enrollments fell during COVID and the agency canceled one patrol academy session in 2023. The post council has convened a working group to examine long-term academy strategy and potential geographic redistribution of training resources, including discussions that could involve community colleges and expanded regional training capacity.

What happens next: The committee asked for additional detail on POST tuition figures, collection amounts, and the potential working-group recommendations about distributing training capacity around the state; POST said it would provide updated tuition/cost lists and work-group timelines. The agency indicated it expects to present a strategic plan within about a year.