In his Dec. 5 letter, “Why the fines,” Eric Schultz states that when citations are issued to Atascadero State Hospital, that those fines are paid by taxpayers. He also states that administrators are clearly not bothered by these fines because “After all, the money never comes out of their pockets.”

What Mr. Schultz fails to realize is that the administrators of ASH are also taxpayers, so therefore it does come out of their pockets, as well. Based on their salary, I have no doubt they pay significantly more than you.