DuPage County sheriff’s officials expect about $300,000 in additional revenue this year if the County Board approves a proposal to increase fees charged for serving summons, eviction notices and other types of legal papers.
A measure that would increase such fees starting Jan. 31 won preliminary approval Monday from the County Board’s Judicial and Public Safety Committee. The proposal goes next to the full board for its approval.
Civil-process fees now generate about $730,000 a year for the county.
Under a proposed amendment to the ordinances, the fee charged for serving summons would increase to $25 from $20. The fee collected for handling an eviction would jump to $100 from $50.
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The Sheriff’s Department also would charge a $25 fee for serving or attempting to serve subpoenas, warrants and other court orders requested by lawyers.
Thomas Janaes, chief of administration for Sheriff John Zaruba, said the county tries to review fees every two years.
A study completed in September by a Northbrook consulting firm concluded that the fees charged by the sheriff’s office generally do not cover the costs of the service.
According to the study, the sheriff’s personnel serve about 20,000 summons a year, about 6,500 subpoenas and 5,300 other legal papers. The office also handles about 150 foreclosure sales and 1,800 evictions.
The work is labor intensive, Janaes said.
The sheriff’s office does not collect the fees from other police departments or law enforcement agencies.
The fees are set by state law, but counties can raise fees if justified by an analysis of costs.