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Ron Fehr for Sheriff
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Knowlege of the Past, Vision for the Future |
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Courthouse
Law Enforcement Center
Booking Room
Communications Center
Inmate Commons Area
Working Sheriff
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Fehr's Education, Training, and Experience provide qualifications.
Fehr has received numerous awards and recognitions for his hard work while in office. He's received Certificates of Appreciation from the Family Readiness Group from the National Guard, L.A.W. publications outstanding achievement in educating the community in alcohol & drug abuse, award of excellence from Boone Jaycees, and twice nominated for the Enrique Camarena recognition of dedication and commitment, which is the highest honor a law enforcement officer can receive, for combating the drug problem. He's also received Certificates of Completions in accident investigation & highway interdiction, Iowa Dept. of Public Safety breath alcohol analysis & field sobriety testing, crime scene & statement analysis, assets of forfeiture, hazardous material incident response, Division of Narcotics clandestine lab investigations, National Criminal Justice death & homicide, and Executive Training. Fehr's commitment to law enforcement excellence is state wide. Sheriff Fehr is also a member of the National Sheriff's Association, Iowa State Sheriff's and Deputies Association, which he has been in charge of the vendors for the schools committee for 12 years, Law Enforcement Intelligence Network, Midstates Organized Crime Investigations Center. "I have the educational training and practical experience to continue my job as Sheriff", says Fehr. "I will continue my persistence with the fight against drugs, and my dedication to my profession makes me the best candidate." Fehr's service to Boone County has proven results. After first taking office, Sheriff Fehr united the local law enforcement agencies and implemented the Boone County Task Force, which has evolved and consolidated into the Central Iowa Task Force. During those early years, drug enforcement of all kinds, including the Sons of Silence, was a priority. Several hundred search warrants and arrests were made during this time period. This hard work on the part of the local law enforcement agencies resulted in the disbandment of the Sons of Silence, as we knew it. The 'clubhouse' was seized, torn down, and in the process making that part of Boone County a safer and better place to live. As Sheriff, I was determined to be fiscally responsible and provide a safer environment for personnel and the citizens of Boone County. With the new jail and communications center, these goals have been met. Jail and Communication Center Since taking office in 1988, Sheriff Fehr began investigating the potential to build a jail to house our own inmates. The Sheriff’s Office has the responsibility to house and care for all prisoners arrested in their county. Boone County was 1 of 3 counties in the state that didn’t have a jail. The city of Boone was the only holding facility in the county and every year there were concerns that the State Jail Inspector may not pass that facility to continue to operate, as required by state law. In 1993, Fehr proposed to the Board of Supervisors a plan to build a jail. At that time it was decided not to proceed any further. Then, around 1997, the city began to increase the booking expenses from $20 to $70 per day, and finding county jails to house our inmates was becoming more difficult. We were taking prisoners as far away as Worth, Dickenson, Marshall, Mahaska and several other counties in Iowa, as well as Ray County in Missouri. In 1999, a vote was taken to remodel the old Chicago Northwestern building in downtown Boone to convert into a law enforcement center for both the police and county with a 54 bed jail. This vote failed by a narrow margin. In 2000, another vote was taken for a 44 bed jail with just the Sheriff’s office. This proposal passed overwhelmingly. In November 2002, the Sheriff’s Office moved into the new building. The last year before the jail opened, the county was paying over $600,000 a year to house and care for prisoners. Other expenses included, the fuel and man hours spent transporting inmates to and from court daily and attorneys travel time for their clients. A tremendous cost was housing prisoners in hospitals. If prisoners became a problem in another jail, they had to be moved and some jails refused them, or they were taken for mental or substance abuse evaluations by court order at a cost of $1,000 per day. Now that the county has their own jail, not only it is safer for not having long transports, but inmates are kept here and seldom have to be taken to the Hospital. Attorneys don’t have to travel as far to see their clients, and the county is able to bring in money with Federal Contracts. The county currently holds between 10 -12 Federal inmates, which in turn brings income to the county of approximately $250,000 year. There is also income from collecting from the inmates themselves for their sentencing time, which is approximately $29,000 year. Inmates have a commissary in the jail, for them to pay for snacks, beverages, and phone calls. This brings in approximately $30,000 year. The 2007-08 jail budget is $728,378.00 per year. This is includes 9 full time jailers, 1 full time cook and part time personnel. These employees live in Boone County, send their children to school here, shop here, and pay their taxes or rent here. The Jail in a Nut Shell After reviewing the number of inmates booked for the year 2007(which was 1,120), housing in other counties, and the city’s holding facility closed, with today’s costs, having no jail would cost conservatively around $850,000 to $900,000 per year. Expenses: $728,378.00 is the jail budget for 2007-08 $300,000.00 is the yearly bond payment $1,028,378.00.00 is the total expenses. Income: $250,000 from Federal Inmates $30,000 from Commissary $29,000 from inmates paying their room and board $309,000 is the Total Income. This makes the total operating costs $719,378 per year. The Communications Center was originally designed for two stations operating and to handle all 911 calls throughout the county when it was built in 2002. This was finally accomplished in July 2005. This move placed all the dispatchers from the city and county into one facility. This makes it easier and more efficient to manage 911 funds collected from the phone companies instead of being redundant in two separate facilities. The county alone that year was spending approximately $323,369 per year, and the city was spending $217,235 per year. Combined, the total operation costs were $540,604. With increasing costs, if there were still two facilities, it would be much higher. The county is actually spending less then what was budgeted for 2005. The 2007 communications budget was $510,815. Headlines from Boone News Republican show a history of commitment to Boone County. Mar 15 1989 "Sheriff does lots in little time" ".....drug raids that resulted in arrests of 8 people...." Oct 10 1989 "Drug Czar (William Bennett) recognizes Fehr, Friesen for their drug prevention programs" Feb 10 1992 "Sting results in 3 convictions" Apr 18 1992 "Law enforcement agencies educate children, public" Nov 1992 "Fehr earns sweeping victory as sheriff" Jan 15 1993 "Stats show sheriff's office focuses on drugs" Aug 7 1996 "Man charged with Weitzel slaying was in Sons in Silence" Oct 1 1996 "Gruber back for murder charges" "...charged in a 12 year old murder case...." Nov 5 1999 "County lawmen make arrest in countys largest marijuan bust" Apr 7 2001 "ATF arrest 3 Boone men on Federal charges: "....arrests result of a 2 year investigation.... conducted by ATF,DNE, Polk and Boone Sheriff's Office, Nevada Police and IRS..... all 3 individuals are associated with the Sons of Silence...." June 19 2001 "Groundbreaking for Jail" Nov 2002 "Jail Opens" May 2 2006 "County marijuana busts on the rise" June 1 2007 "2 men, wife charged with Boone County slaying"
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