Kansas University hopes the Legislature will find another $3.9 million a year to offset lower-than-projected revenue for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, which the university runs in western Kansas as part of its continuing education program.

With the state facing a massive budget shortfall this year, that’s a tall order. But KU and center leaders say not getting the money could put the center at risk for defaulting on bond payments and force “catastrophic program and personnel cuts.”

“We’ve been able to survive up to this point,” said center director Ed Pavey. “But we’re getting to a position where we can no longer conduct business as normal.”

Kansas University's Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Yoder, Kan., serves as the central law enforcement training facility for the state and as headquarters for all law enforcement training in Kansas. It is a unit of KU Continuing Education.

Kansas University's Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Yoder, Kan., serves as the central law enforcement training facility for the state and as headquarters for all law enforcement training in Kansas. It is a unit of KU Continuing Education.

Along with $5 million to establish a Drug and Vaccine Discovery Institute and money for merit raises at KU Medical Center, the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center is one of KU’s three legislative priorities for 2015.

The training center, located near Yoder, is not only important for the university but ensures law enforcement officers across the state are adequately trained, KU vice chancellor for public affairs Tim Caboni said.

“A central element of KU’s mission is educating the leaders our state needs, whether those individuals are going to work for businesses or entering public service,” Caboni said. “KLETC is an important part of that mission because it trains more than 8,000 law enforcement officers every year for local communities.”

Established by the Kansas Legislature in 1968, the center is the state’s central law enforcement training facility. It trains the majority of Kansas’ municipal, county and state law enforcement officers and also supervises training at seven certified academy programs operated by local agencies and the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Pavey said the center is at capacity right now, with 120 officers in the 14-week basic training program living in the dorms, plus veteran officers participating in continuing education programs.

The center’s annual budget is $6.6 million, and its 173-acre campus is home to 15 buildings.

In 2007, the Legislature approved issuing $16.4 million in bonds for an expansion to increase the center’s training capacity, Pavey said. The project added four new buildings, including an additional dormitory.

Under the initial agreement, he said, the center expected to return to the Legislature to ask for more money in 2016. But revenue shortfalls are forcing them to ask a year earlier and for more than planned.

The biggest culprit is district and municipal court docket fees.

They are the primary funding source for center operations and were historically dependable, Pavey said. But they’ve plummeted in recent years, with remittance levels more than 18 percent lower in district court and 21 percent lower in municipal court.

Pavey said it’s hard to pinpoint what’s causing that but that the center attributes it largely to fewer traffic tickets being issued.

He said personnel shortages — many agencies are leaving law enforcement officer positions vacant or reassigning officers to other tasks to save money — mean fewer officers are assigned to traffic enforcement. Higher speed limits may result in fewer speeding tickets, and prolonged weather conditions can divert officers from traffic enforcement, too.

Pavey said the center needs more money to ensure it’s able to keep up with its bond payments, as well as to continue operations.

He said the center has taken cost-cutting measures, but they aren’t enough. The center has left open some positions and deferred maintenance. Among other needs, carpeting and a roof need replacing, and the emergency vehicle operations training course needs asphalt work, he said.

“The list goes on and on,” he said.

Pavey said he wasn’t prepared at this time to speculate on exactly what would have to be cut or by how much if the center does not get more money.

He said no funding source has been identified, although this year’s Legislature could elect to increase court docket fee remittance levels or elect to identify another funding source. No hearing has been set on the issue.

Caboni, with KU public affairs, said a provision of the bond agreement requires the university to seek funding increases when docket fee revenues fall below a certain threshold.

State Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Lawrence Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said KU’s large request for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center is “not an automatic.”

“It’s a very tough year to be asking,” Ballard said. “We are trying to find money in order to keep the state running, and we may not have the option of identifying brand-new money.”

KU’s request is not just for one year, either, she noted.

Ballard said questions need to be answered, including where funds would come from and whether the center takes priorities over other things.

“How important is it for the needs of the people and the safety of the people around the state?” she said.