Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 4.34 Jail Booking and Processing Fees

This chapter is enacted for the purpose of implementing Section 29550 of the California Government Code, enacted by Chapter 466, Statutes of 1990, in order to recover the costs incurred by the county related to the booking and other processing of persons arrested by an employee of certain other agencies where the arrested person is brought to a county jail facility for booking.

(Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)

The board of supervisors finds that unless the county is reimbursed for such booking and other processing costs, it will be required to fund these costs from revenue that would otherwise fund both county-wide and unincorporated area services for which the county is responsible. Since these designated public agencies are the direct beneficiaries of these booking and other processing services that would be financed from the county general fund absent a booking and processing fee, it is more equitable for such services to be funded by a fee imposed on the direct beneficiaries of such services rather than by reductions in county services.

(Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)

As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases are defined as set out in this section:

A. "Designated public agencies" means those public agencies upon which the county may impose a booking and processing fee pursuant to Government Code Section 29550, except those agencies which separately contract with the county of Kern for jail services or which otherwise compensate the county for its jail booking and processing services through contract. Agencies which provide a reciprocal benefit to the county, as determined by the board of supervisors, through making jail facilities available for use by the sheriff's department may also be exempt from the fee imposed by this chapter.

B. "Booking and other processing costs" means all county administrative costs, including applicable overhead costs as permitted by Federal Circular A-87 standards, necessary or appropriate for the reception and detention of arrested persons at county jail facilities from the time that the arrested person is initially presented to facility staff until the person is either released from custody or assigned to permanent housing within the facility. Reimbursement costs reflected in the jail booking and processing fee shall include, but are not limited to: initial reception, search for weapons/contraband, fingerprinting, photography, criminal records screening, arrest records processing, data entry, personal property accounting and storage, clothing insurance, medical treatment, counseling, security and prisoner escort and release processing.

(Ord. G-6172 § 2, 1995; Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)

A. There is levied by the county of Kern a booking and processing fee on designated public agencies for all booking and processing costs incurred by the county with respect to each person arrested by an employee of such designated public agencies and brought to a county jail facility.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (A) of this section, the fee shall not be levied on designated public agencies for booking and processing costs incurred by the county regarding arrests made with respect to the following:

1. Arrests made on bench warrants and arrest warrants issued for complaints filed by any agency other than the arresting agency. The fee will be charged for arrest warrants if the arresting agency is the same agency that originally filed the complaint for which the warrant was issued;

2. Arrests for driving under the influence (DUI) and for public intoxication which are handled through the detoxification process rather than through the regular jail booking process as persons confined in the county jail for detoxification are only processed through the initial stages of booking (search for weapons/contraband and collection, inventory, and storage of personal property);

3. Persons remanded to the custody of the sheriff by any court;

4. Persons arrested on warrants for probation violations, or for probation violations upon specific request of any Kern County law enforcement agency;

5. Persons arrested for parole violations only;

6. Persons arrested for escaping from any county jail, city jail or state prison facility;

7. Persons held temporarily in county jail facilities as a courtesy to other law enforcement agencies while being transported to other facilities, without being booked;

8. Multiagency arrests, such as may occur in connection with a joint task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies;

9. Persons who present themselves for booking at county jail facilities, unescorted by any law enforcement agency;

10. Juvenile arrests.

(Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)

A. The amount of the jail booking and processing fee levied pursuant to Section 4.34.040 shall be established by the board of supervisors on an annual basis and shall be based on the cost incurred for "booking and processing" activities, as defined in Section 4.34.030. Said fee shall be established only after conducting a public hearing to consider the matter.

B. Costs included in determining the fee amount shall include both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs will be based on total estimated costs for the fiscal year for which the fee will apply. Indirect costs will be computed based on the standards set forth in Federal Circular A-87.

C. The fee amount will be determined by dividing the total direct and indirect costs applicable to "booking and processing" activities by the total number of persons booked into the county jail during the previous calendar year. The resulting "unit cost" per booking will determine the fee amount to be applied to each chargeable booking. The fee amount will not exceed actual costs incurred by the county.

D. The sheriff shall be responsible for the computation of the booking fee and shall submit the computations to the county auditor-controller for verification prior to February 15th of each year. After verification of the booking fee computations by the auditor-controller, the sheriff shall submit a report to the board of supervisors detailing the proposed booking and processing fee and shall request that the board of supervisors schedule a public hearing for consideration of the matter, to be conducted prior to April 30th of each year.

E. The booking and processing fee applicable to fiscal year 2022-2023 shall be two hundred six dollars and fifty-two cents ($206.52) for each chargeable booking and shall apply to all billable bookings occurring on or after July 1, 2022.

F. In lieu of a fee amount to be charged for each billable booking, any affected agency may separately negotiate an agreement with the county of Kern providing for the payment of a fixed annual sum or other alternative means of compensation.

(Ord. G-7563 § 2, 2007; Ord. G-7409 § 2, 2006; Ord. G-7239 § 2, 2005; Ord. G7100 § 2, 2004; Ord. G-6990 § 2, 2003; Ord. G-6908 § 2, 2002; Ord. G-6800 § 2, 2001; Ord. G-6687 § 2, 2000; Ord. G-6596 § 2, 1999; Ord. G-6510 § 2, 1998; Ord. G-6394 § 2, 1997; Ord. G-6302 § 2, 1996; Ord. G-6204 § 2, 1995; Ord. G-6172 § 3, 1995: Ord. G-6145 § 2, 1994; Ord. G-6036 § 2, 1993; Ord. G-5866 § 2, 1992; Ord. G-5602 §§ 2—4, 1991; Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)

(Ord. No. G-7943, § 2, 9-22-09; Ord. No. G-8039, § 2, 5-4-10; Ord. No. G-8271, § 2, 5-8-12; Ord. No. G-8391, § 2, 5-7-13; Ord. No. G-8473, § 2, 4-29-14; Ord. No. G-8701, § 2, 5-9-17; Ord. No. G-8765, § 2, 4-24-18; Ord. No. G-8820, § 2, 4-30-19; Ord. No. G-8932, § 2, 5-5-20; Ord. No. G-9001, § 2, 5-25-21; Ord. No. G-9105, § 2, 6-14-22)

A. The sheriff's department shall bill all agencies subject to the jail booking and processing fee on a quarterly basis. Invoices indicating the number of billable bookings during the preceding quarter and the total amount due will be mailed by the sheriff to each affected agency on a quarterly basis.

B. Payments to the county for the jail booking and processing charge will be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the date of receipt of the quarterly invoice from the sheriff's department.

C. Such payments will be made directly to the sheriff. The sheriff shall be responsible for following up on all jail booking and processing fees which are chargeable under this chapter, and which are not paid by the specified date.

(Ord. G-6172 § 4, 1995: Ord. G-5458 § 2 (part), 1991)