Commission hears first reading to raise sheriff's office fees, including 11% card passthrough and higher overtime rates

Weber County commissioners on April 14 heard a first reading of an ordinance amending the county's fee schedule for the Sheriff's Office, including several increases staff said are needed to cover vendor charges and staff time.

Julie Stoddard, the ordinance presenter, told the commission that credit-card processing fees were not previously listed in the fee schedule and recommended adding an 11% passthrough "that is just passed on from the vendor we use." She also proposed changing GRAMA (government records) audio and video request charges from a flat $30 per case to "$35 per deputy or vehicle" to account for additional redaction time when multiple deputies or vehicles are involved, raising incident and police report fees from $15 to $50, setting inmate haircuts at $10 and beard trims at $4, making prescription charges variable depending on the medicine, and increasing the hourly deputy overtime charge to $98 while removing rank-based differentials.

Commissioners raised several substantive questions. One asked why an 11% passthrough is necessary; Stoddard replied the vendor handles chargebacks and negotiations, which she said eliminates risk to the county. Other commissioners questioned the proposed $35 audio/video fee, noting lengthy redaction work on some media and saying a flat $35 "per deputy" may not cover multiple hours of staff time. A commissioner asked whether statute requires fees to be based on the salary of the lowest-qualified employee who can perform the task or on the actual person doing the work; staff said they would verify the controlling statute and return with supporting documentation.

Because this was a first reading, the commission did not take a final vote on the ordinance. Commissioners said they were open to advancing the ordinance to a second reading but asked staff to provide the legal basis and a cost-allocation analysis demonstrating that the proposed figures are an appropriate average of actual costs before final approval.

The ordinance under consideration would amend section 16-2-11 of the county fee ordinance (Sheriff's Office). Staff asked for additional data on GRAMA request volumes and time estimates; Stoddard noted a jump in requests in the presenter's office from about 30 in 2024 to about 90 in 2025 as context for the proposed increase.

Next steps: staff will check the relevant statute governing records-request fees, provide supporting cost calculations for the proposed amounts, and return for a second reading and final decision on the ordinance.