COUNTYWIDE : Meeting OKd on Booking Fee Dispute

County officials will meet with the mayors of the county’s 10 cities to discuss prisoner booking fees, which the cities have refused to pay, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday.

The recommendation came from Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee, who said the $120-per-prisoner fee is beneficial because it forces law enforcement agencies to be more selective in deciding which prisoners to book.

Since the fees took effect in July, 1990, the number of prisoners booked into the County Jail has dropped by 46%. Erickson Kildee said the county could modify the fee by charging the cities only for bookings that exceed an average number for each city based on population and other factors.

She said such a change would continue to give the cities an incentive to be selective in booking prisoners but would also reduce the cities’ costs.

In May, the cities filed a lawsuit against the county over the booking fees and a separate fee that the county charges cities, schools and other special districts for the cost of collecting property taxes. Erickson Kildee said she did not propose the modifications to the booking fee to resolve the lawsuit against the county.

In an interview Monday, Camarillo City Manager Bill Little, a designated spokesman for the 10 cities, said he is willing to meet with county officials.