Hollister
– The Board of Supervisors approved an increase to the county’s
environmental health fees on Tuesday.
Hollister – The Board of Supervisors approved an increase to the county’s environmental health fees on Tuesday.
The increases include health permit fees for restaurants, liquor stores, farmers’ markets and more. Some fees – including plan approval and construction inspections for public swimming pools – will more than double, but most of the fees have been reduced from those proposed earlier this year.
When the Health and Human Services Department suggested the fee increases in January, supervisors said they were worried about the impact on local businesses.
At the time, Supervisor Pat Loe said the county should “back load” the increases so most of them occur after Hollister’s sewer moratorium is lifted, a comment that was echoed by business owners.
Under the increases approved Tuesday, the permit fee for a restaurant with up to 50 seats will increase – by $15 or $16 per year – from $226 to $302 over a five-year period.
In order to keep up with increasing costs, Health and Human Services Director Kathy Flores said the fees will also increase every year by an additional amount based on the San Francisco Bay Area’s consumer price index.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz amended the new ordinance to “give it some teeth” by requiring that supervisors review the fees every three years. County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said the change is largely symbolic, since future supervisors can always vote to change an ordinance.
The amended proposal passed 3-2.
Board Chairman Don Marcus said he opposed the amendment because it doesn’t make sense to constrain future supervisors.
“In five years, who knows what the financial situation will be?” Marcus said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
