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| Judge Inquires About County Jail Fees |
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| News - Linn County News | |||
| Written by Charlene Sims | |||
| Wednesday, 16 December 2009 09:00 | |||
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MOUND CITY – Parker municipal judge Claude Warren asked the Linn County Commission on Monday for its opinion on an issue with the sheriff’s office. Warren questioned why the city received a bill for the use of the county jail by a person who was arrested in Parker and taken to Mound City. Parker is being charged $125, which includes $40 for booking, $45 for fingerprinting and $40 for one day’s lodging. Warren told commissioners that there is a sign in the sheriff’s office stating that the cost for fingerprinting is $10. Warren said the booking fee set by the state ok if convicted of a misdemeanor is $25. “Why is the city penalized when a person is charged in municipal court? The same person could be arrested in the city by the same officer but charged in district court and there are no charges?” asked Warren. Warren pointed out that all taxpayers in the county pay taxes for the county jail. When the sheriff’s office collects the money from the city, it must be placed in the general fund and does not go to the sheriff’s budget. He asked why the sheriff’s department wanted to charge the cities for something for which the residents are already paying. City fines at least can go to local businesses, he added. Warren said that he would be satisfied no matter what opinion the commissioners decided, but he would like them to look at the problem. Warren did say that he does not know of another time that the sheriff’s office billed a city for keeping a prisoner. County Counselor Gary Thompson said Kansas statutes state that a sheriff who runs a county jail and has city people under his care is required to charge the cities for them. Thompson said he was not in a position to give an opinion about the costs that were billed. Warren reported that Bonner Springs and Edwardsville do not pay for prisoners that are in the Wyandotte County Jail. Thompson said it’s probably because Wyandotte County is not viewed as a county but as a unified government. Sheriff Barry Walker presented the commissioners with a county resolution from 1994 concerning the use of the Linn County Jail by jurisdictions outside of Linn County that allowed the sheriff to charge other jurisdictions $40 per day for a prisoner. Walker questioned the resolution because it said jurisdictions “outside of Linn County.” Thompson said that, in his role as a city attorney, his position is that cities do not need to be booking people into jail because of the costs to the city and the city’s responsibilities if the prisoner gets sick. Thompson will review the issue and bring information back to next week’s commission meeting.
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