PDF: Sheriff Management Comments 2009 – Final PDF: Fees charged to bonding companies to cover expenses for picking up fugitives* Bond companies have paid the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office $9,917 since December 2007 to cover the cost of picking up fugitives.* An audit released in Jan. 2010, covering July 1 2008 to June 30 2009, found several instances where the Sheriff overcharged for public records, or charged for things not authorized by state law. The sheriff’s office has adjusted its practices. According to the findings, charges included:- Charging $2 to $8 for accident, incident and arrest reports.- Charging $25 for first hour for phone records and $20 for each additional hour of recording.- Charging $35 per CD of accident photos.- Charging 25 cents per day for a visitation locker rentals at the jail.* Donald Gorman Jr., director of administration for the sheriff’s office, said the charges outlined in the report generated about $64,000 per year in revenue.Source: Hamilton County Auditing Department, Sheriff’s Office
A difference of opinion on whether the county sheriff can make bail bondsmen repay the costs of picking up county fugitives jailed in other states may leave Hamilton County’s taxpayers with the bill.
It’s also a question that could have implications for other sheriff’s offices in Tennessee.
An audit of the sheriff’s office earlier this year found no state law compels bonding companies to reimburse the sheriff for travel to pick up fugitives.
“We are unable to locate any statutory authorization for such charges,” the audit report said.