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Freestone County approves updates to sheriff’s and county fee schedule, adds storage and civil-hour charges
Summary
Commissioners reviewed and approved a suite of fee updates — modest increases to many fees, a new storage fee for seized property, changes to civil-hour billing, and applying commission on sale proceeds — citing outdated fees and increased costs since 2006.
Freestone County commissioners approved updates to multiple county and sheriff’s-office fees, including a new storage charge for seized property and revised civil-hour billing intended to better capture staff time and associated costs.
Agency official (speaker 6) told the court many county fees had not been adjusted since about 2006 and recommended modest increases — often about $25 for typical items — to align Freestone County with neighboring counties such as Limestone, Leon and Anderson. He said the proposal also introduces a storage fee for seized vehicles and household goods when the county must secure property, and recommends applying a 10% commission on sales conducted under execution.
On civil-hours billing, the official said the county previously charged $25 per hour after four hours; many peer counties start charging after two hours and set rates between $50 and $100 per hour. The court discussed options (a flat $75 per deputy per hour was described as a middle ground) and considered administrative approaches used by other counties for on-scene charging and subsequent invoicing through the treasurer.
Commissioners also discussed logistics for storing seized property — secured shipping containers or tow yards — and whether judges’ orders could designate payment responsibility for storage fees. The official said that in instances where legal orders require property to remain at a court location, storage and handling could be more complex and the order can specify who pays.
Chair (speaker 2) called for a motion to approve the proposed changes; the court recorded a motion and second and the Chair announced the motion carried. The transcript records the court approving the discussed fee adjustments, but it does not include a roll-call vote or a line-item roll-forward in the record.
Next steps: staff were directed to finalize the packet for formal submission and to update the fee schedule documents for publication and implementation.
