Supervisors Reject 25% Increase in Fees for Jail : Bookings: Cities already balk at the current charge of $120 per prisoner. The county says its costs are rising too.

At the urging of representatives from several cities, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a 25% increase in the fee that cities are charged for booking prisoners into County Jail.

County officials had recommended that the fee be increased from $120 per prisoner to $150 beginning July 1 to cover the increasing cost of booking prisoners into the facility.

Each of the county’s 10 cities has so far refused to pay the fee, spurring county officials to consider suing to collect the money.

If the cities begin paying the $120 fee, the county is expected to collect about $870,000 next year. The higher fee would have brought the county about $1.1 million.

Representatives from Oxnard, Simi Valley and Camarillo told the supervisors that the increase would cut into already overburdened city budgets and encourage city police departments to book fewer criminals into the jail.

Some officials suggested that the fee be abolished entirely.

“The bottom line is the city of Ventura cannot afford the booking fee,” said Ventura Police Chief Richard Thomas.

He added that Ventura police have reduced by 43% the number of people booked into the jail since the fee was adopted in September.

Last year, state lawmakers gave county governments the power to collect the booking fees and other fees from cities to offset some cuts in state funding. Ventura County lost $6 million in state funds last year.

While the supervisors insisted that the county faces tough budget problems that have forced them to adopt the fee, they said they sympathize with city officials who object to the proposed increase.

Supervisor John K. Flynn, who recommended that the increase be rejected, said he is glad that the fee has forced cities to re-evaluate the number of people booked into the jail.

But he said an increase in the fee would punish cities that have tried to reduce bookings.

“I hope we can find other ways to help the financial dilemma we are in,” he said.

Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee, who traveled to Sacramento last week to talk with lawmakers about the state budget, said state officials are likely to use the same tactic of passing on funding cuts to balance an estimated $12.6-billion deficit next year.

“The county can no longer be the brunt of all state cuts,” she said. “The costs must be shared.”

To save money, Oxnard police have reduced their jail bookings for misdemeanor offenses by 80% compared to last year.

“The losers are the law-abiding people,” Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi said. “The winners are the criminals.”

Camarillo Councilwoman Charlotte Craven said the fee should not be imposed on Camarillo because the state ruling that gave counties the power to collect the fee allows for a fee only when a city employee makes an arrest.

Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Ojai, Fillmore and Moorpark contract with the county Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services. Thus, arrests in those cities are made by county employees, not city employees.

County Chief Administrator Richard Wittenberg rejected those arguments, saying that sheriff’s deputies make such arrests on behalf of the cities.

Wittenberg urged the Board of Supervisors to adopt the increase to offset rising administrative costs at the county’s jail facility.

He said the county has myriad financial problems that could lead to an $11-million deficit next year. Wittenberg said the county faces many difficulties in making cuts in services because about 90% of the county’s services are mandated by state and federal regulations.

However, he said state and federal authorities do not always provide funding for the programs. “The choices are simply not there,” he said.

On Tuesday, the supervisors also approved a request by the Public Social Services Agency to spend an additional $340,000 on three welfare assistance programs.

For example, the number of households seeking Aid to Families with Dependent Children funds increased to 7,796 in February, a 12% increase over the previous year.

In total, the increase in cost for welfare programs is $6.8 million. However, state and federal funds pay about 95% of the costs for such welfare programs.