Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Tuolumne County supervisors ask staff to return with options to ease sharp environmental health fee increases
Summary
After business owners and supervisors said county environmental health fees rose sharply this year, the Board asked staff to return in December with a matrix that first uses 2023 fees as a baseline and shows the budget impact of stepped cost‑recovery options and discrete process improvements.
Tuolumne County supervisors on Oct. 7 directed staff to return with a set of options to reduce recently raised environmental health consumer protection fees after business owners and supervisors said the increases were sudden and steep.
Interim County Administrative Officer Roger Root told the board the county had adopted a 100% cost‑recovery goal that drove some fees up as much as 300 percent and that the dramatic increases have hurt small, low‑margin businesses. "My end goal is to actually reduce the fees," Root said, adding that staff were prepared to work on both fee adjustments and operational process changes.
The board’s direction came after roughly 45 minutes of public comment and supervisor remarks. Several business owners, including a small bed‑and‑breakfast operator and tattoo shop…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
