Hollister
– The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is considering
substantial increases to health inspection fees for restaurants and
other businesses.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Supervisors is considering substantial increases to health inspection fees for restaurants and other businesses.
Under the proposed increase, many environmental health fees would jump by 70 percent or more. The annual permit fee for a restaurant of up to 50 seats would increase from $226 to $403. Other affected fees include permits for farmer’s markets, liquor stores and swimming pools.
The increase, according to Health and Human Services Director Kathy Flores, is needed to meet rising costs.
But some restaurant owners think the fees are going up too much.
When Johnny’s Bar and Grill owner Charisse Tyson was told about the potential fee increases, she said, “That’s insane.”
Tyson predicted that if the increases are approved, local businesses will take a hit.
“All the restaurants are suffering,” she said.
Tyson said she appreciates Supervisor Pat Loe’s request that the fees be “back-loaded.” Under that plan, most of the increases would come after the end of Hollister’s moratorium on new sewer hookups, which has brought development to a virtual standstill.
“Give us more people before you go crazy like that,” Tyson said.
She also suggested that the county allow restaurants to make the payments in several installments over the course of the year.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho expressed similar concerns at the supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday.
“It’s brutal for these people, just brutal,” Botelho said.
Flores said the fees only cover the county’s expenses, including the cost of sending county inspectors twice a year to ensure that a restaurant’s sanitation is up to snuff. The fees, she said, have remained unchanged since 1996, while costs have increased.
“We cannot keep up with (costs) if we’re not increasing fees every 10 years,” County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson said.
County staff presented the board with two fee schedules: one that would immediately increase fees to meet the county’s costs, and another that would stagger the increase over three years. The supervisors asked to see a third option, where the increase is phased in over five years. County staffers plan to show the board the new schedule on Feb. 6.
According to Thompson, the county’s environmental health costs outnumber the dollars raised from fees by more than $100,000 annually. To make up for that shortfall, Thompson said, the county spends state funds.
Increasing the fees, Flores said, would free up more state money for the county’s 15 other health programs. These programs include nurse home visits, an immunization program and tobacco education and prevention.
“I have no problem subsidizing business,” Botelho said.
Supervisor Reb Monaco said he’s concerned that reducing or slowing the fee increase might only cause more problems.
“My only concern is that phasing in is only going to cause us to fall further behind,” Monaco said.
Flores told the Free Lance that her department will present the supervisors with an ordinance after the board has expressed its support for a specific fee schedule.
“We don’t know when the fees will take effect, because we don’t know what the fees are yet,” Flores said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
