LANCASTER, Pa. -- Big changes are coming to how warrants served in Lancaster County. Lancaster County President Judge Dennis Reinaker signed an order Wednesday morning that essentially takes warrant duties away from constables, and starting June 1, 2015 will put the Sheriff's Department in charge.
Constables are elected, and are not salaried. They collect fees based on the services they provide, for example, $25 for serving a warrant. The fee goes up if someone has multiple warrants. "If there's ten parking tickets, and two people go out and serve them, that's $500 in fees," said Reinaker.
Under the new system, a defendant will only pay a one-time fee of $59 regardless of how many warrants they have. "It's not uncommon for someone who has been part of the system, who has had multiple unpaid parking tickets, to have thousands incurred in expenses. Now we will be able to control the cost. It's much more likely that whatever costs are incurred is much more likely to be paid by these folks," said Reinaker.
Lancaster County Commissioners approved $300,000 to hire six additional Sheriff Deputies to take on this responsibility. They will be salaried, and will be paid the same amount, regardless of how many warrants they serve.
The changes will be done through a soft rollout.