The Kosciusko County Board of Health voted Wednesday to raise some fees for environmental health services.
The annual fees cover services including inspection of food service establishments, private and commercial sewage disposal and testing of private well water. The fee schedule proposed by the board includes raising food service permits from $20 to $100, private septic system permits from $25 to $100 for a new construction or $50 for a repair, and private well permits from $10 to $25.
Health Department Administrator Bob Weaver told the board he is not sure the county commissioners will approve the proposed fee schedule. Weaver said he received feedback from at least one commissioner who was concerned that the increased fee for food establishments is not fair to smaller establishments.
"They believe there could be a change in the fee for establishments that are not full-service establishments," Weaver said.
Several board members questioned how health inspectors could determine whether each establishment qualifies for a higher or lower fee rate.
Board member Dr. Mike Williams said he doesn't think the fee is unreasonable.
"I think the fees are low," said Williams. "I would rather have a flat fee unless there are objective criteria."
County Health Officer Dr. Bill Remington asked whether the rate could be based on seating capacity.
Board member Joan Darr said even if the board could establish objective criteria by which to assess fee rates, the time inspectors would spend measuring and assessing would outweigh the increased revenue of the higher fees.
"I'd rather see us cut it to $75," Darr said.
Williams motioned to send the proposed fee schedule to the commissioners without providing a lower fee for smaller volume establishments.
In other news, Remington told the board the number of tuberculosis cases in the county has fallen since an outbreak of the disease two years ago. According to Weaver, last year there were eight known active cases of TB in the county, and in 2005 there were 10. Remington said there are now only two active cases of TB in the county.
During the outbreak, county health officials, assisted by federal and state health agencies, have carried out contact investigations to find people who may have been exposed to TB. Remington said the investigations were a key component in controlling the outbreak.
"We identified more and more active cases and got them treatment so they were no longer contagious," Remington said. "During that process we were also able to identify latent cases and get them treatment so we were able to keep them from becoming contagious."
