Budget & Finance
The Riley County Law Enforcement Agency approved the 2025 budget for the Riley County Police Department on June 17, 2024. The 2025 budget reflects an increase of $1,844,849.76, establishing a total approved budget of $28,781,941.93. This increase will support key operational and personnel initiatives:
• 3.8% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for employees
• Continued Salary Survey adjustments
• Health Insurance
• Liability Insurance
• Inmate Food
• Fuel
The funding for the 2025 budget comes from the following sources:
• City of Manhattan: $22,817,823.01
• Riley County: $5,704,455.75
• Carryover from unused 2023 funds: $259,663.17
It is important to note: Riley County is also responsible for funding RCPD facilities and inmate medical expenses.
“As a service-based department, our employees are our greatest asset,” said Director Brian Peete. “The 2025 budget reflects our continued commitment to fair compensation and operational efficiency while ensuring public safety remains a top priority for Riley County residents.”
The 2025 COLA increase of 3.8% aligns with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Midwest Region. The Salary Survey adjustments further address competitive compensation gaps identified in The Arnold Group’s 2023 study. While significant strides have been made, RCPD remains focused on fully implementing the survey in future budgets.
Currently, 86% of the RCPD budget is allocated to personnel, with 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents—well below state (2.6) and national (2.39) averages. Despite this, Riley County consistently maintains crime rates lower than the state average, underscoring the department’s efficiency and professionalism.
“Riley County residents deserve the highest standard of service,” Peete said. “By prioritizing our personnel and strategic planning, we ensure that Manhattan and Riley County remain safe and attractive places to live, work, and visit.”
2025 Approved Budget Details:
Base Adjustments: $64,368.25
3.8% COLA for employee salaries: $1,093,551.51
Salary Survey Implementation: $686,930.00
Total Budget Increase: $1,844,849.76
2025 Approved Budget Total: $28,781,941.93
RCPD continues to prioritize fiscal responsibility while meeting the community’s expectations for effective and fair policing.
The 2024 Budget was approved at the June 26 Special Law Board Meeting which can be viewed below.
- How is the RCPD funded?
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The Riley County Police Department Budget is funded according to Kansas State Statue (K.S.A. 19-4443):
- The City of Manhattan - 80%
- Riley County - 20%
- Riley County is also responsible for the cost of facilities and inmate medical
- Expected copy fees to be received during the current budget year
- Carryover from 2 years prior (2021 budget uses carryover from 2019)
- What is carry over?
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Carry over is the combination of two items:
- Unused Budget Funds: budget funds can only be used in the current budget year, all unused funds go into carry over
- Non-Budget Credits: items we received money for but cannot directly credit it back to a budget line. Examples include: prior year restitution/reimbursements, recycled batteries, SSA incentive payments.)
- What are copy fees?
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K.S.A. 45-219(c) allows the RCPD to charge a modest fee in response to information requests. Those funds are added to the unused funds for a given year and become carryover.
- Where can I get City Of Manhattan Budget Information?
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You can view the City of Manhattan's Finance page on their website.
- Where can I get Riley County Budget Information?
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You can view Riley County budget information on their website.
- When can I view the new annual budget?
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The final budget will be available after the required process is complete.
Administration at RCPD works with the Law Board to discuss and modify the budget timeline as needed for the appropriate year. Around March, discussions begin with the Law Board to determine what is deemed necessary and begin preliminary budget preparations and obtain guidance.
A draft budget is created and presented to the Law Board around April. At the time of the draft budget presentation, a determination is made for additional Law Board meetings if necessary for budget development.
A proposed budget is presented at the next Law Board Meeting and released for publication by the media prior to a mandatory public hearing. After the required hearing, and public release of the proposed budget, the Law Board can formally adopt the final budget at their next meeting.
You can expect a final annual budget for the upcoming year around July. The budget becomes effective on January 1 of the following year.
- How does the RCPD manage costs?
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The RCPD manages costs by:
- Tying major expenditures to our strategic plan
- Utilizing cost coding and contract tracking software
- Recommending new positions that can be justified in the strategic plan
- Monitoring non-personnel expenditures throughout the year to ensure we are not becoming reliant upon unused personnel funds for those expenditures
- Tracking overtime throughout the year and holding ourselves in an effort to operate within our budget. Emergent public safety needs that often include ensuring officer safety are never ignored
- Presenting large end-of-year purchase requests using unexpended personnel funds to the law board in a public meeting.