Sheriff’s fees likely to rise after Philly Council committee action

Fees will rise in the Philadelphia sheriff’s office if the full City Council follows the lead of a Council  committee.

The increase approved by the committee  would apply to everything from providing notice of a sheriff’s sale to enforcement of court orders.

Ben Hayllar, chief deputy sheriff for administration and finance, said the office is seeking its first fee hike in decades.

“The current set of fees has not been adjusted since 1997,” he said Thursday. “In the 20 years since these fees were set, the cost of living has gone up 50 percent.”

The sheriff’s office workers are not out to profit from doing their jobs, Hayllar said.

“The purpose of the fee is to have the user of the fee, the beneficiary of the fee, pay for it,” he said. “When that doesn’t happen, the taxpayers ends up subsidizing that service and that is what has happened over the past 20 years.”

The measure now goes to the full Council for consideration.