State officials aren't ready yet to provide estimates of how much the extended manhunt for suspected cop killer Eric Matthew Frein in the Poconos is costing taxpayers.

But that doesn't mean the issue of providing the Pennsylvania State Police with resources to meet unanticipated costs for overtime and other expenses isn't on the radar screen of lawmakers in Harrisburg."The sole focus of the state police at this time is the apprehension of Eric Frein," said Jay Pagni, spokesman for Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday. "The state police will address the fiscal and resource impact of the manhunt at a later time."The agency should be able to release cost numbers after the operation has concluded, said Maria Finn, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania State Police.A key House lawmaker said costs shouldn't be an issue in nabbing Frein and protecting law enforcement personnel involved in the manhunt."The No. 1 priority is to make sure we don't lose any more law enforcement lives," said Rep. Mike Vereb, R-150, Collegeville, the majority caucus secretary who is influential on law enforcement issues.Vereb emphasized that lawmakers will be prepared to approve a revenue enhancer or supplemental budget bill if the state police need it.Federal and local law enforcement personnel are involved in the manhunt, too, he said.Supplemental appropriation bills can be introduced anytime during a fiscal year to provide extra funds to meet unanticipated costs facing a state agency.They are passed by both chambers like any other bill.An adjustment can also be made when the next budget is passed in June. The current budget includes supplemental funding to meet earlier costs for medical assistance and corrections programs.The state police are winners in this $29 billion budget receiving funding increases.Total spending for the agency is $886 million when appropriations from the taxpayer-supported General Fund and Motor License Fund are counted together, according to a House Democratic Appropriations Committee analysis.The budget supports the training of some 350 trooper cadets.This comes when the trooper complement is 500 below authorized levels and about 1,000 troopers are eligible for retirement, the analysis said.Meanwhile, the manhunt continues.The area shifted again Monday, but by nightfall had returned to the area where law enforcement focused their search efforts in recent days.Tuesday marked the 18th full day of searching for Frein, 31, accused of taking position outside of the Blooming Grove barracks in Pike County with a .308-caliber rifle and opening fire during a late-night shift change on Sept. 12.State police Cpl. Bryon Dickson II was killed and trooper Alex Douglass was severely wounded.State police said he then disappeared into the vast surrounding woodlands. Frein, of 308 Seneca Lane, Canadensis, left behind his parents' Jeep Cherokee in a swampy retention pond two miles north of the barracks.State police spokesman trooper Thomas Kelly said the search was in response to incoming tips, but he had nothing new to report."Smaller search teams have expanded their search efforts to different areas but the overall perimeter hasn't changed," he said. State police previously said the effort to find Frein is a very fluid investigation.The hunt for Frein centered on the Blooming Grove area for nearly a week until something happened to shift focus about 20 miles south.State police have not officially confirmed what happened, though the Philadelphia Inquirer cited anonymous sources saying Frein turned on his cellphone to call his family on Sept. 18, allowing investigators to get an idea of his location.Joseph Kohut, staff writer for the Citizens Voice, contributed to this report.