Rock County approves ordinance allowing booking fees and sets daily inmate cost at $135.95

The Rock County Board of Supervisors on a voice vote approved a new ordinance authorizing the sheriff to charge a daily inmate cost and related booking fees, and set the actual per-day cost of maintaining sentenced inmates at $135.95.

The ordinance (creating section 3.9 of the Rock County Code of Ordinances) was moved by Supervisor Knutson and seconded by Supervisor Pier. Supervisors then approved a separate resolution establishing the $135.95 daily rate; that motion was moved by Supervisor Knutson and seconded by Supervisor Wilson.

County officials and supervisors emphasized the change is intended to give the Sheriff's Office the legal mechanism to assess nominal fees (booking, transportation, drug testing, electronic monitoring) only for sentenced inmates, not for persons who are merely arrested and presumed innocent. Court counsel told the board that "these resolutions ... are not about going and collecting money. They're about the ability of the Sheriff's Office to charge a booking fee," adding that the county's legal staff generally does not take an active role in collection efforts because of opportunity cost.

Captain Josh Lund, who helped calculate the proposed rate with the jail's accounting staff, explained the mechanics: "By setting a daily rate, we're able to go after ... a booking fee, a transportation fee, drug testing fees, electronic monitoring fee." Lund said the rate applies to "sentenced inmates only" and is intended to allow the county to begin recovering some costs.

Supervisors asked how much the county realistically expects to recover. County staff and the sheriff's office cautioned that collection rates are low: staff said the county currently receives roughly 25% of billed electronic-monitoring fees and that many formerly incarcerated people are judgment-proof or have little income or assets. Court counsel said pursuing small-dollar collections in-house often costs more than it yields, and that the county historically intercepts a tax refund in only a minority of cases.

Board members discussed alternatives. Supervisor Homan asked whether contracting with a private collections firm had been considered; the sheriff's office and other staff said the county has used private collectors in the past on a department-by-department basis and may revisit that option depending on expected return. Former jail administrator Supervisor Tillman, speaking from experience, said charging housing fees is common in Wisconsin but warned that aggressive collection efforts can have wider costs for county human services and that full recovery of billed amounts is unlikely.

The board and staff framed the ordinance as a first step to allow modest fee recovery while acknowledging practical limits on what the county can collect. The ordinance cites Wisconsin statutory authority for charging inmate costs; county staff said the ordinance will be effective upon publication.

Votes at a glance: The board approved (voice votes) the ordinance creating chapter 3.9 authorizing inmate costs and the separate resolution setting the actual per-day cost at $135.95. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the public minutes.

Ending: County staff said they will provide more detail to supervisors and to the sheriff's office about implementation and collection practices as they refine procedures and consider whether to use outside collection services.