Itís pay to stay in county jail

By MaryHelen Swanson
Effective Aug. 1, anyone staying as a guest of the county in the Chisago County Jail will be paying room and board.
Sheriff Todd Rivard told the county commissioners last week it was the responsible thing to do ñ setting up a pay to stay fee schedule.
Itís something about one-fourth of the stateís 87 counties are now doing. As proposed, the jail will charge $20 per day to all convicted inmates houses in Chisago County.
All work-release inmates (Huber) will be expected to pay a $25 working fee in lieu of the $20 room and board fee. Good time earned by an inmate will not be charged if it is not lost because of a violation of jail rules. Payment is due for work-release inmates every Monday before they will be released for work.
Inmates service time for other counties will be bill by the county they are being held for if that county has a room and board policy in place.
Pay to stay fees may be forgiven in hardship cases, noted Sheriff Rivard, but any inmate claiming hardship must meet with the sheriff and present evidence of the hardship at the time of the meeting.
An inmate will be given his ìbillî upon release and will have 90 days in which to pay it.
The county board approved the schedule.
Other fees or fee changes also were approved, including an increase for nursing, doctor and dentist services, for an evaluation by Human Services and for prescription refills.
The booking fee of $10 will remain the same; it is set by state statute.
A fee of $10 also has been set for fingerprinting non-residents. Resident inmates still will not have to pay to be fingerprinted.
The commissioners also approved changes in fees for civil process services, increasing mileage from 45 cents to 50 cents with an automatic increase to 55 cents if gas prices rise above $2/gallon.
Post of sales will go from $20 to $20, mortgage foreclosure sales from $0 to $60, sheriffís sales from $20 plus mileage to $60 plus mileage, redemptions from $75 to $300 and evictions from $35 plus mileage and deputy time to $92 plus mileage and deputy time.
A reorganization of the sheriffís office in the area of city contract deputies also was approved.
A corporal position, rather than a probationary deputy, will be assigned to the Taylors Falls contract. That person also will be the supervisor for the Stacy/Center City and Harris contracts.
The corporal position will be liaison dealing with the city clerks, mayors and city councils for those cities.
The financial impact of changes in the department mean an additional $982 is needed for the budget. Sheriff Rivard said he feels the department can absorb the cost. The change is effective July 6.

Top of Page

©ECM Post Review

6448 Main Street
North Branch, MN 55056
Telephone: 651-674-7025
Fax: 651-674-7026
E-mail: editor.postreview@ecm-inc.com