City officials are analyzing the county’s recently changed
policy in raising Hollister’s tab for booking inmates at the county
jail.
Sheriff Curtis Hill’s office charges a booking fee anytime
someone is arrested in Hollister and brought to the jail. State
legislation mandates such an arrangement between counties and
cities throughout California.
City officials are analyzing the county’s recently changed policy in raising Hollister’s tab for booking inmates at the county jail.
Sheriff Curtis Hill’s office charges a booking fee anytime someone is arrested in Hollister and brought to the jail. State legislation mandates such an arrangement between counties and cities throughout California.
“We just want to make sure the Sheriff’s Office has carefully documented their rates,” City Manager Dale Shaddox said.
In the past five months, Hollister has been charged for every 15 minutes it takes for jail employees to book an inmate – as opposed to a flat fee required in the past, according to Hill.
But Hill said the policy, or the fee, never really changed. The Sheriff’s employee who was assigned to the booking room had merely been charging incorrectly – by imposing that flat fee. Hill said he discovered the mishap during a review of departmental costs earlier this year.
The charge is currently $42 an hour and it is assessed in 15-minute increments, Hill said. So if someone gets arrested in Hollister, and the booking takes 15 minutes, the city will be charged $10.50.
In the past, Hill said, every booking – even if it lasted two hours – would cost $10.50.
The amount of money the alteration will ultimately cost the city is not clear at this point, but Hill said it has “made a significant difference.”
“We’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Hill said. “It’s still taxpayers’ dollars.”
A few months back, Shaddox had asked former interim Police Chief Larry Todd to interact with Hill on the matter, which will cost the city thousands of dollars from its General Fund budget.
Since then, Todd departed in early September. And new Police Chief Jeff Miller has taken over the duty’s responsibility.
Miller said he is still learning the issue to get a “total understanding of the picture.”
The modified policy comes at a time when the county and most other jurisdictions throughout the state continually struggle with budget issues. Other Central Coast cities are dealing with similar jail booking fee changes established by county governments, according to Shaddox.
The City of Salinas was recently “alarmed” by Monterey County’s increased booking fees. Salinas officials questioned whether Monterey County’s methodology followed state laws, said Salinas Deputy City Manager Jorge Rifa.
“All of the cities in Monterey County have questioned the booking fee,” he said.
At this point, Hollister officials have not questioned the legality of the county’s fee change: “We just want to make sure everything is appropriate,” Shaddox said
Most local jurisdictions in the state are reviewing fee structures in some manner, including Hollister, which approved an update Monday to more than 20 citywide charges, Shaddox said.
“We’re looking at our costs and revenues very carefully,” he said. “But surprises like that (booking fee change) compound the problem.”
Additionally, the county could raise the fee it charges at some point in the near future, Hill said, a decision that would be left up to county administration. He called the amount charged to Hollister “very reasonable in relation to every other jurisdiction I know of.”
