The City of Westminster established WMC 3.60.010 which allows the City to recover the cost of police personnel and equipment responding to an emergency incident. When a person, under the influence of alcohol, drug, or combined influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, proximately causes an incident by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle, vessel or aircraft, resulting in an appropriate emergency response, the City of Westminster Police Department will impose this fee.

Calculating This Fee

Per WMC 3.60.040, the City of Westminster Police Department calculated the DUI Emergency Response fee. This calculation includes all actual costs incurred by the City in responding to the incident, including salary, benefits and overhead for each member of the police department responding to the incident, the cost of equipment on scene, and the cost of repairing or replacing equipment damaged at the scene. This fee also includes the cost to obtain medical assistance, remove vehicles, investigate the incident, conduct field sobriety tests, arrest and detain the suspect, travel time to and from the scene, transporting and booking the suspect, conducting chemical tests, writing customary reports, and any follow up investigation needed to complete reports.

DUI Emergency Response Fees will not be the same for everyone as no single emergency response is the same. This fee is specifically calculated using the above factors for the fiscal year of occurrence, and using the Police Department's computer system to compile the length of time associated to each police member's time from the beginning to the end of the response. Report-writing time is calculated from our in-house computer system.

Appealing This Fee

Per WMC 3.60.070 , any responsible person or the parents or guardian of a responsible person, if he/she is a minor, may contest the emergency response cost by submitting a written request to the City for an appeal hearing, clearly stating the reasons for the appeal, within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt by the responsible person. A hearing appeal fee of $15.00 will be paid prior to the hearing, but is separate of the DUI Emergency Response fee regardless of the Hearing Officer's decision. A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is not less than fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt by the responsible party and will only examine whether the fee was calculated following the laws provided.

Pay Booking Fee Online or mail payment to:

City of Westminster - Arrest Booking Fee
c.o Citation Service Center
P.O. Box 11370
Santa Ana, CA 92711

Online Payments

The City of Westminster provides online services. Online Bill Pay provides a secure and environmentally friendly and efficient way of making payments using a credit card. The City of Westminster accepts Visa, Master Card, Discover and debit card payments via our on-line processing company.

Check or Money Order Payments

The City of Westminster Police Department accepts checks or money order payments mailed to the above address, or made in person at our office located at 8200 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683. Your check or money order will be forwarded to the processing company.

Payment Arrangements

For customers requiring additional time to pay their City of Westminster DUI Emergency response bill, payment arrangements are available for approved applicants. Payment arrangements must be established prior to the customer’s first invoice due date. To establish a payment arrangement, you must provide proof of financial hardship. Come to the City of Westminster Police Department located at 8200 Westminster Blvd., Building 5, Westminster, and ask for your application.

Any citizen that can provide proof of financial hardship may request a payment arrangement for an extension of time, not to exceed three (3) years. The application for a payment arrangement plan shall be filed with the City of Westminster Police Department, within thirty (30) days notice of your bill. The City shall review the request for extension of payment and consider the customer's ability to pay, past payment history, and the amount due, and may approve a repayment plan, not to exceed a total of thirty-six (36) months, depending on the total amount owed. See chart below:

Your total fee will fall within the range below:

You can calculate your own minimum amount due by dividing your total amount due by 12, or 24, or 36 months depending on your range.

In order to be considered for a payment plan, you must complete the application, provide documents supporting any financial hardship, including two most recent pay checks, proof of credit card or loans owed, mortgage or rent checks and will be subject to credit check inquiry through any of the known finance institutions.

1. All DUI Emergency response fees must be paid in full within ninety (90) days of receiving notification. Two courtesy reminders will be mailed out on the 30th and 60th days, before causing the matter to go to an approved collections agency for failure to make payment.
2. No additional extensions shall be granted once a defined plan has been established.
3. Any failure to make payment will initiate the collections process and will cause further action with the Franchise Tax Board.