Students and Ames residents arrested for simple misdemeanors will now find themselves with a long walk home and higher fee.

The City of Ames and the Story County Board of Supervisors recently signed a 28E agreement, which states that all people arrested in Ames will be transported to the Story County Justice Center in Nevada, said Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald. Previously, only people charged with an offense more severe than a simple misdemeanor were transported to the Justice Center.

Ames City Council members said they focused on the cost savings reported, not how an arrested individual would get home.

“City staff continually look for ways to share services with other departments and local governments, especially like services,” said Councilman Russ Cross. “As a council, no one raised the question of transportation home. I figure most would get picked up by family or friends.”

Councilman Matthew Goodman said he mainly looked at cost savings as well, but the ride home was a good point.

“We didn’t factor it in,” he said. “It’s a decent point we hadn’t really considered; we looked more at cost savings, not really individual savings.”

Fitzgerald said people arrested would have to arrange their own ride home; officers are not required to bring them back to Ames.

The Cyclone Cab Company, 2006 E. Lincoln Way, charges a flat fee of $20 from the Justice Center to anywhere in Ames.

Ames Police Cmdr. Jim Robinson said they started a three-month trial period in February to see how effective the agreement would be.

“It ended up transporting would be more cost effective,” he said.

Robinson said each person charged with a municipal ordinance and transported to the Justice Center would be billed an extra $50, but under state law, those charged with state offenses like OWI would not be billed.

Although transportation costs have increased, savings have also been realized.

“Officers used to have to accompany prisoners to court every morning and one to two officers would be taken off the street to perform that function,” Robinson said. “Dispatchers would also perform observation of arrestees. The majority of people held are alcohol-related and during the first four hours they have to be observed every 15 minutes, and with 911 calls and officers calling in, that was a problem.”

Community service officers, like the parking division, will now be used as transport officers, he said.

“The community service officers have now received additional training and we will use them to transport,” Robinson said. “This will free up time for officers to stay on the street.”

The Ames holding facility will remain as is until an architect can be brought in to analyze the best use of space, Robinson said.

ISU Department of Public Safety Director Jerry Stewart said the change of the new jail procedure has had very little impact on their department.

“Previously we transported indictable offenses to Nevada and only took simple misdemeanors to Ames,” he said. “OWIs were taken to Nevada anyway, but public intoxications go to Story County now, where previously they had been transported to Ames.”

Stewart said they transported someone to the Ames Police Department approximately 120 times a year. He added that the fee wouldn’t apply to any of the persons they arrest.

“We don’t have the fee because the charges we file are state statutes,” Stewart said.

Ames was one of 14 city holding facilities still in operation in Iowa, Fitzgerald said, and is following consolidation trends – like those considered by Polk County and Des Moines – across the state to streamline services.

The increase from transporting Ames arrestees to Nevada has caused Fitzgerald to ask for a larger staff from the Story County Board of Supervisors. He has received two additional staff that will start Nov. 1. He said they booked 171 people in September 2004 and 310 people in September 2005.