Amador County - Sheriff Martin Ryan was present at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting to address a proposal for raising LiveScan fees and funding made available through the Secure Rural Schools Act. In reference to improved efficiency, Sheriff Ryan thanked the board for “the rare occasion when I come in front of a body such as yours and thank you for cutting our budget.” Ryan added that the “foremost priority of government is to make law enforcement and public safety a priority.” Supervisor Ted Novelli said that as Chairman, he “will try to help keep every deputy we need on the streets.” Ryan said that since 1999, the Sheriff’s office has been providing a successful LiveScan fingerprint service to residents and non-residents alike. During this time the office has only charged $5.00 per scan – the lowest in the state. Of 1,135 LiveScan’s in the 2007/2008 fiscal year, 879 were Amador residents and 256 were not. Ryan believes the high non-resident ratio is due to the low fee charged. He proposed raising the fees to a statewide average of $20.00 per resident and $27.00 for non-residents. The motion was approved unanimously. Ryan also asked to modify his original request for funds from the Secure Rural Schools Act from $20,000 to $18,000. These would go solely towards the Sheriff’ Search and Rescue Team. He said he had a recent discussion with Cathy Koos Breazeal, Director of the Amador Fire Safe Council, and decided he could function on fewer funds while her program needed more. The Fire Safe Council recently had to move its office into Koos Breazeal’s living room due to funding cutbacks. The Supervisors approved of both motions unanimously. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.