DATE: 6/20/17
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Elizabeth Diaz, Public Defender
SUBJECT: Amendment to Fresno County Master Schedule of Fees, Charges, and Recovered
Costs - Second Hearing
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Conduct second hearing to amend the Fresno County Master Schedule of Fees, Charges and Recovered Costs Ordinance for services provided to indigent criminal defendants by amending Subsection 2001 of Section 2000-Public Defender; and waive reading of the ordinance in its entirety.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will amend rates in section 2000 of the Master Schedule of Fees, Charges and Recovered Costs (MSF) by amending subsection 2001(a) and (b) relating to recovery of actual costs for legal defense services provided by the Public Defender, and the County's contracted alternate indigent defense provider, to adult and juvenile indigent defense criminal defendants in Fresno County.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may direct staff to use current fees or propose alternative fees which may not recover 100% of costs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. These rates will be used by the Public Defender to recover appointment registration fees and additional costs associated with the defense of adult and juvenile defendants. In FY 2015-16, the department collected $59,924 in court-ordered attorney fees. As of May 31, 2017, the department has collected $47,406 in court-ordered attorney fees. It is anticipated with acceptance of these fees, the Public Defender's collection of FY 2017-18 court-ordered fees will increase approximately 2%. However, the Public Defender revenue from court-ordered fees has decreased since FY 2013-14 when the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector (ACTTC) changed the distribution of court-ordered fees to the Public Defender to fourth priority in order to ensure compliance with the California Penal Code.
DISCUSSION:
All persons have a constitut...
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