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Sheriff charges for new jail stays

By Staff | Mar 30, 2009

When the new Faribault County Law Enforcement Center opens next month, there will be a charge to house some of the prisoners.

If the county takes in prisoners from other counties, they will charge $60 per day to do so.

Sheriff Mike Gormley presented a list to the county board of over 30 different fees his office charges for services rendered.

The commissioners formally approved the list at their most recent county board meeting.

Gormley told the board that the $60 daily charge for housing non-county prisoners is pretty standard for the area.

Commissioners questioned whether Gormley had been actively seeking out-of-area prisoners for the new jail, and he responded he has been in contact with Martin County only, so far.

The sheriff’s fee scheduleincludes some items which the sheriff has long charged for, and a few which are new.

“There is a $10 charge for finger printing,” Gormley says. “Obviously this charge is for persons who need it done in order to be bonded, or for a job application – we finger print the perpetrators for free, of course.”

Gormley says they would offer the finger printing free of charge to any citizen who requested it.

“Other counties were charging for the service, so we were getting a lot of out-of-county folks coming here to save the 10 bucks.”

There are several other services which the sheriff’s office performs which they have a charge for. One of those is process serv-ing, which is a $30 cost, plus the mileage to go to the residence of the person being served.

Gormley says they serve a lot of papers, from court orders to civil suits.

The deputies usually take the papers with them when they head out on patrol around the county, and deliver them as they go.

Another charge is a floating percentage for executing – and collecting on – a levy.

“If the levy total is under $250 we charge 10 percent of the amount,” Gormley says. “If it is over that amount, we get six percent.”

Redeeming the property sold at a sheriff’s sale is also a spendy charge. The sheriff’s office collects a $250 fee for that service.

However, the charge is just $75 for the sheriff to have conducted the sale in the first place.

Getting a copy of a squad videotape will also set you back $250.

Processing a new permit to carry a gun is a $100 fee, while a renewal gun permit is $75.

Other fees include $70 for foreclosure of mortgage and $5 for either a background check, or to get a copy of a sheriff’s office photograph.

“We have long had some of these fees,” Gormley says. “It is just a way to charge for some of the many duties we have which are not necessarily part of our regular office responsibilities.”

He adds that the sheriff’s department brings a considerable amount of revenue through these various fees.

“Many of them have been around as long as there have been sheriffs,” Gormley says. “It is a part of what we do.”