Countywide : Hike in Booking Fees to Fund New Jails, Maintenance

The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to increase booking fees by $18 and place the revenue in a fund for jail construction and maintenance.

The 3-2 vote was hailed by plan supporters such as Supervisor William G. Steiner, who said the action underscores the county’s commitment to ease jail overcrowding and fund new detention facilities. But opponents insisted that the fee hike was unnecessary because police departments are already decreasing their reliance on the county’s five detention facilities.

Beginning Jan. 1, the fee charged to police departments and other agencies each time they book an inmate into the county’s jails will increase from $158 to $176. The fee is expected to generate about $2 million annually.

Supervisors Thomas F. Riley and Harriett M. Wieder joined with Steiner in supporting the increase, which was sought by county officials to offset rising jail costs. Supervisors Gaddi Vasquez and Roger R. Stanton voted against the increase.

The fee hike comes as Steiner announced progress in negotiations between the county and the city of Orange over the long-sought expansion of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail.

“It’s one thing to negotiate a compromise; it’s another to come up with the money to expand the jail and fund construction,” Steiner said. “This put your money where your mouth is.”

The increases have been criticized by some law enforcement agencies.

Officials said the number of bookings into county jails from municipal law enforcement agencies has dropped 15% to 20% this year, in large part because the departments are taking their business to city jails.

Vasquez opposed the fee hike, saying it was a “tremendous contradiction” to raises fees on cities after they helped the county ease its overcrowding by opening their own jails and using other agencies to book people.