POST warns of funding pressures as academy demand grows; requests staffing and equipment for FY26

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 heard the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) budget presentation, which outlined dedicated revenue sources, recent general-fund transfers, higher training costs and requests for modest staffing and equipment for fiscal 2026.

Noah Peterson, Legislative Services Office analyst, summarized POST’s revenue streams: a $15 court fee applied to many violation types, fingerprint filing fees, in-service training fees, dormitory and facility fees, court-fee distributions tied to motor-vehicle fines, and miscellaneous revenues from officers who leave during a trainee probation period. He noted House Bill 469 (2022) created a liquor-revenue transfer into the POST fund starting in FY23; POST received $620,000 in FY23 and $804,300 in FY24 via that transfer.

Peterson and POST Administrator Brad Johnson said that POST’s dedicated fund has faced multi-year declines and that the academy has relied on one-time general fund transfers in recent years to cover spikes in operating costs (for example, an increase in cafeteria contract costs and inflationary pressures). Johnson said POST’s month-to-month dedicated fund receipts have recently exceeded projections, but the division will monitor spending closely through FY26.

POST requested a technical records specialist (net 0.33 FTE, $20,800) to reduce certification turnaround times — certification processing has grown from two to four weeks historically to peak times of three to six months. Johnson said a part-time role is being converted to full time to address the backlog. POST also requested $111,600 one-time for replacement vehicles (replace a 2001 15‑passenger van and a half-ton pickup) and $61,600 for IT hardware replacements recommended by OITS.

Johnson explained POST’s repayment process: students sign two-year agreements that require repayment of training costs if they leave the law-enforcement profession within the period. He said POST had expanded use of a collections agency in recent years, which increased recovered miscellaneous revenue. Representative Miller and others asked for the approximate tuition cost for basic patrol academy training; Johnson said the patrol academy cost is about $12,000 per student (the figure varies by program length) and that POST will provide more-detailed tuition schedules to the committee.

Johnson described POST’s broader role: in addition to operating the academy in Meridian, POST certifies programs statewide, monitors officer certification and professional responsibility, and supports in-service training via regional coordinators. A post‑council working group is drafting a strategic plan for basic training delivery across the state; Johnson said the group expects to present recommendations within about a year.

Committee members asked for additional materials on revenue trends, the scope of other training providers (community colleges, IDOC and agency-run programs) and Post’s detailed tuition and repayment figures; POST said it will provide that information to the committee.