Marshall County Sheriff Matt Hassel presented the county commissioners with a proposal to be able to sustain and potentially increase revenue for inmate programs at the jail.
He said many of the programs are paid for by grant money from Marshall County Community Corrections, but he wants to make sure money is available for those programs if grant money isn’t there.
“We do have a booking fee ordinance on file that we stopped collecting because a court ruled you couldn’t charge people who weren’t convicted,” explained Hassel. “A lot of Indiana counties, and Porter County is the one that I can think of the best, they do collect a booking fee with the fines and costs of people convicted or found guilty of crimes. That money goes into his jail treatment programs.”
Hassel recommended that County Attorney Jim Clevenger look at the existing ordinance and possibly amend it to include a booking fee with fines and costs when a defendant is sentenced. That fee would help supplement funds for jail treatment programs.
The commissioners agreed that it would be something to research. Sheriff Hassel will forward the appropriate paperwork and information to the county attorney for formal commissioner approval in a future meeting.
