Council approves fee schedule change for food trucks amid divided views on competition

The El Campo City Council on Sept. 22 approved Ordinance 2025-14, an amendment to Appendix A of the city fee schedule (article A5, health-related fees) that updates a fee section and includes a higher annual charge for food trucks.

The motion to approve the ordinance was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. During discussion, one council member said they had contacted managers at 10 brick-and-mortar restaurants to ask whether local food trucks pose direct competition. The council member reported that one manager said food trucks affect business, another said only during large food-truck events, and the remainder said food trucks offered a different customer experience and did not take regular business.

That same council member said they had not spoken with local food-truck operators and described themselves as an advocate for the food trucks in the community. Another council member raised the property-tax point: brick-and-mortar restaurants pay property tax while mobile food trucks generally do not, and that difference justified a modest higher fee for trucks.

Council discussion also touched on sales tax collection: council members said food trucks that are registered in El Campo collect sales tax; the transcript indicates some uncertainty about sales-tax practice for out-of-town units and the permitting requirement. The amendment passed; the council did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript and did not adopt additional conditions on the record.

The transcript does not record detailed fee amounts for the updated schedule beyond the reference that the permanent fee for food trucks would be $50 higher annually than for brick-and-mortar businesses.