Fees Charged By Riverside County Sheriff's Department Set For Revision

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Monday authorized the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to move ahead with preparing a series of revisions to fees charged by the agency for background checks, subpoena deliveries, coroner's operations, fortune-telling licenses and other services.

In a 5-0 vote without comment Monday, the board cleared sheriff's personnel, in coordination with the Office of County Counsel, to revise fee schedules that have not been updated since June 2010.

The sheriff's office is expected to return with a new fee "ordinance" for board consideration within the next several months.

It was not immediately known whether the agency's current fee schedule would be completely revamped, or only partially. It was also uncertain whether a few fees may be reduced, rather than increased.

"The office can assure the board that any amended ordinance that it may propose as part of its updated schedule ... will amend only the amount of the fees or details of sheriff's procedures which may be included in the ordinance and would serve to justify the amount of the fee," according to a statement posted to the board's agenda.

Massage parlor technician licenses, which went from $500 to $595 under the previous fee adjustments 15 years ago, are expected to be considered in the updated ordinance.

Similarly, U.S. Department of Justice fingerprint screening fees, charged for concealed firearms permits and other applications, may be impacted, along with background check charges for fortune teller business licenses, second-hand dealer licenses and fingerprint checks for individuals completing background checks to work in schools or county agencies.

The charge for a deputy to serve a civil subpoena was unchanged during the previous round of fee revisions, remaining at $150 per service attempt. It's possible that will be hiked.

The private party autopsy fee, in which a person requests that coroner's pathologists conduct an independent examination that is not related to any criminal matter or other fatality requiring a post-mortem, was reduced in 2010 from $2,045 to $1,958 per exam. That fee, too, may be increased. The coroner's office has contended with a backlog of autopsies over the years.

The board would be required to hold at least two public hearings before formally approving any proposed fee adjustments.