Sheriff's Office Looks to Increase Fees for Service of Process

• March 02, 2013
• by Kimberly Faber

A top story from 1011 News in Nebraska covers some issues Hall County has been having with service by the Sheriff’s Office. The story discusses fee issues, financial losses, taxpayer coverage, and more, and includes an interview with Hall County Sheriff Jerry Watson, who shares his thoughts on possible solutions.

Click here to watch coverage of the story from 1011 News.

About 10,000 papers are served in Hall County each year, and the people who have service conducted by the Sheriff’s Office pay a fee that covers a portion of the cost of service. Watson noted, “The people that ask for our service are paying two-thirds of the bill, and the taxpayers are paying the other third.”

According to Watson, for every $300,000 it costs to serve papers the sheriff’s office only receives $200,000, leaving an outstanding balance of $100,000. “We’re losing about $10.17 per paper that we serve,” Watson shared, an amount that adds up significantly year after year.

The bigger policy question that this brings up is what’s an appropriate role for government and taxpayer’s money to be used versus what should we expect to pay for in fees.

Nebraska Senator Mike Gloor

In looking for new ways to reduce that $100,000 loss, Watson suggests asking the legislature to increase fees for the people using that service, or giving the control of setting those fees to the local government, incorporating a police known as Home Rule.

Deferring service to private process servers was not suggested during the story.

1011 News spoke with Nebraska Senator Mike Gloor to get his take on the issue. Gloor said that if the issue gets enough interest it may be a discussion lawmakers will take up. “I think that’s one of the questions right now. Is it a point where there’s enough inertia across the state with different counties that they want us to take a look at [service fees]?” He notes that the issue and Watson’s suggestions raise larger questions. “The bigger policy question that this brings up is what’s an appropriate role for government and taxpayer’s money to be used versus what should we expect to pay for in fees,” he said.

While some people are reportedly calling what Watson is suggesting a tax increase, he says that what he’s proposing is the opposite. Right now, he explained, taxpayers are getting some of the bill associated with services that are somewhat privately used. Watson said that when he discusses increasing the fees, he means for the people who use the service to pay for it in full.

In short, Nebraska taxpayers are currently footing part of the bill for private legal matters.

What do you think is the solution?