Drunk Drivers to Be Billed

As part of its effort to recover more of the cost of providing various city services, the Torrance City Council has decided to charge drunk drivers when police and paramedics are called to an accident.

Under the eight new or increased fees approved Tuesday for police and fire services, an intoxicated driver or one found under the influence of drugs will be billed $240 when police are called to an accident. If the Fire Department must respond too, $525 will be added to the bill.

The new fees are expected to raise about $10,000 a year, according to city officials. The fees include a $97 fine assessed to people responsible for loud parties if police officers respond to more than one noise complaint.

The cost of providing copies of police reports was raised from $5 to $15. The cost of a fire prevention plan check was raised from $30 to $32. The council also approved a new $20 charge for second and subsequent fire inspections and a new 15-cent-per-square-foot fee for annual high-rise inspection.

Since February, the City Council has considered 109 new and increased user fees and has approved about 70. The recommendation to increase fees came in a financial report released in January, which found that the city subsidizes about 70% of the cost of the services.