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POST warns of dedicated‑fund pressure, enrollment challenges; council working group to recommend basic‑training plan
Summary
Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) described rising training costs, increased collection of unpaid trainee obligations, and a working group to recommend a future model for basic training across the state.
Brad Johnson, administrator of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that POST’s dedicated fund revenue declined in recent years, prompting intermittent general‑fund transfers and program adjustments.
Analyst Noah Peterson summarized POST’s revenue streams, which include a $15 court fee on many violations, fingerprinting and filing fees, educational and dormitory fees, and a portion of motor‑vehicle fine distributions. Peterson noted that House Bill 469 (2022) established a liquor revenue transfer that provided POST with $620,000 in FY2023 and $804,300 in FY2024. He also described a rise in “miscellaneous revenue” collections: money recovered from officers who leave employment before the end of a signed training agreement (the academy enrollment agreement). POST reported it had begun using a collection agency for uncollected paybacks, which staff said explains an uptick in recovered revenue.
Johnson described a range of operational needs and a request to convert a part‑time technical record specialist into a 0.33 FTP full‑time position (personnel cost $20,800) to address certification backlogs, where turnaround for some certifications has grown from 2–4 weeks to as long as 3–6 months during peak periods. Replacement items requested for the Meridian campus included a 15‑passenger van and IT equipment.
The POST administrator said POST does not recruit officers (agencies send students to POST), but POST has updated its curriculum to include officer wellness, suicide awareness and fitness components and recently completed job task analyses to rewrite patrol curriculum. A post‑council working group has been formed to develop a strategic plan for delivering basic training across the state; Johnson said the group intends to present recommendations within about a year.
Committee members pressed Johnson and analyst Peterson about enrollment trends (patrol academy class sizes fell during COVID and have recovered partially), tuition/academy costs (Patrol academy tuition cited around $12,000 per attendee as an example), and POST’s reliance on dedicated fund revenue. POST staff said the agency has received one‑time general fund transfers in recent years to address shortfalls and extraordinary cost spikes (for example cafeteria contract increases and inflationary pressure on supplies and services).
Committee members asked POST to supply detailed tuition figures and to continue working with the post‑council working group on proposed changes to how basic training is provided statewide. No final appropriations were decided during the hearing; committee staff will continue to monitor POST fund balances and working‑group output.
