A 17-year-old ordinance mandating annual registration updates from those convicted of committing sex crimes or violent crimes will likely be expanded in the Columbus area.
Since 2016, an county ordinance has required convicted sex offenders and violent offenders to pay $50 annually to register their address.
But under an amendment initially approved Monday by the Bartholomew County commissioners, the offenders must report a variety of information to the sheriff’s department immediately.
Under the proposed amendment, offenders must also keep the department updated on existing or new employment, education, volunteering and secondary residences.
“So even if they live in a different county and work here, they still have to register here,” commissioner Chairman Tony London said.
Each change that occurs outside the annual registration will require an additional $5 fee, according to Rudy Olivo, a retired police officer who handles the registry for the sheriff’s department.
An Indiana statute allows counties to adopt and enforce an offender registration fee. It mandates 10 percent of each fee be transferred to the state for administering the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry.
But the statute isn’t well-defined on local fees, so Olivo recommended changes included in the amendment as a way to improve the local program, sheriff’s Capt. Christopher Roberts said.
A number of counties have made the choice to use the remaining 90% to defray costs associated with the paperwork, use of equipment and the mandatory annual training for office and investigative registry staffs. The proposed amendment under consideration establishes a Bartholomew County sex or violent offender administration fund.
When asked by county commissioner Larry Kleinhenz if he was concerned about additional fees keeping sex and violent offenders from updating the registry, Roberts said he’s not worried because non-compliant offenders are committing a legal violation.
“But we have that a lot, right?” Kleinhenz asked.
In response, Roberts said Olivo has been working diligently to notify the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office regarding those who are committing such violations.
The second and final reading of the amended ordinance is scheduled for Oct. 16.
