OKEECHOBEE – Court-ordered drug testing will cost Okeechobee County  $40,000 in the next fiscal year, and $80,000 the following year under an interlocal agreement with St. Lucie County. 

At the July 11 meeting of the Okeechobee County Board of Commissioners, Frank Amandro, director of the St. Lucie County Criminal Justice Division explained the $30 per test paid by the clients only covers about half the cost of keeping their Okeechobee County office open. 

He said the $30 fee was set by the chief judge.  

Amandro said when they first made the interlocal agreement  to provide the service for Okeechobee County, the fees paid by clients covered more of the expense, but in recent years the costs for operating the testing site and the lab have increased.

The costs for the Okeechobee County office are now about $160,000 a year, he said. He said the fees paid by the clients last year totaled about $78,000.  

"I don’t understand why we don’t charge them the full cost,” said Commission Chair David Hazellief. 

Amandro said by law, the chief judge for the district sets the fees. He said his office has argued the fees should be increased. He said they are also seeking grants to help offset the cost. 

"Sometimes people in drug court might have to take two or three drug tests a week,” said Commissioner Brad Goodbread. He said some of the clients could not afford to pay more and they have no choice about the testing. 

"Perhaps there should be some discussion with the judge about a sliding scale,” suggested Commissioner Kelly Owens. “I don’t want some people to not show up and get the drug testing done because they can’t afford it. 

But don’t like the cost of the test falling on the taxpayers.” 

Former county judge Jerry Bryant said people who go through the drug court program have to pay probation fees, counseling fees and they are required to have random drug testing. 

“Sometimes it can be two, three or even four times a week,” he explained. “Going through drug court is not cheap.” 

He said he thinks the program is worthwhile because it helps people fight drug addiction. 

“I wish I could express to you the feeling I get when I run into somebody who works in a local business that went through drug court, and they tell me how drug court changed their life,” said Byrant. 

He encouraged the commissioners to keep the drug test fees cheap enough for the people in the program to continue with the program. 

"The cost to society of these people not being well is more than the cost of the drug test,” said Goodbread. 

“I’m for us – society – trying to do what we can to help people attain that level of normalcy rather than going down the rabbit hole of drug addiction.” 

"We are spending millions of dollars on our jail,” said Byrant. “Most of those in the jail are because of a drug problem.” 

Goodbread noted it costs the county $85 a day to keep someone in jail. 

The commissioners voted to approve the interlocal agreement. 

The St. Lucie County Drug Testing Program provides Drug Testing for defendants within Okeechobee County. The Okeechobee Drug Lab is open 20 hours a week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday for 5 hours a day.