Ellisville Raises Court Fees

In accordance with a state grant, Ellisville council members agreed at their Sept. 7 meeting to increase court fees by $2, raising the fee paid by convicted parties in criminal and traffic cases to $24.50.

The increase follows the requirements of a state legislation which requires all cities that accept a state-issued biometric scanner used to record criminal fingerprints digitally to approve a $2 surcharge for court processing.

The funding created with the $2 surcharge will go toward maintenance costs for the machine and possibly to costs associated with housing inmates, which Court Administrator Denah Brooks said costs about $40 a day. Although rarely houses inmates overnight at all, Brooks said, people jailed for extended periods are housed at an outside facility.

"So [costs] add up really quickly and that $2 will hardly even touch it," Brooks said of re-couping inmate housing costs.