County Supervisors Ready To Green Light Plan To Charge Inmates

Next week the Riverside County Board of Supervisors is expected to formally pass an ordinance allowing the county to charge prisoners a fee for every day they spend in jail.

The cost is $142.00 for each day. County Supervisor Jeff Stone came up with the idea in an effort to save the county 3 to 5 million dollars a year.

It’s estimated 60-thousand inmates s pass through county jails every year. Supervisor John Benoit says the revenue generated from this plan could save some jobs with the county facing an $80 million budget shortfall. “If we can avoid laying off a firefighter or keep the staff at the animal campus, critical things are on the block right now and this an important time to get every possible revenue source that makes sense for the maintenance of basic services,” said Benoit.

Reimbursement requirements of prisoners will be determined on a case by case basis. The supervisors will call it a victory if they can collect from 25 percent of the prisoners who pass through county jails.