Council debates food‑truck fee differential; ordinance amending fee schedule approved

The El Campo City Council on Sept. 22 approved Ordinance 2025‑14 to amend the city fee schedule for health‑related food establishment fees, including provisions that affect mobile food vendors. The ordinance change was brought forward for discussion and a council member moved to approve the ordinance; the motion received a second, and the council adopted the ordinance after a brief debate recorded during the meeting. During discussion, one council member said they opposed the change, explaining they had contacted 10 local brick‑and‑mortar restaurants and found only one manager who felt food trucks directly affected their business; several managers said food trucks provide a different customer experience. That council member also raised sales‑tax and property‑tax differences between mobile vendors and fixed restaurants and said they had not contacted food‑truck operators themselves. Another council member argued food trucks do not pay property tax and therefore charging a modest higher fee (noted in the meeting as $50 more annually) was a way to balance contributions. No roll‑call vote or individual vote tallies were recorded in the transcript; the meeting record shows the motion and second were on the floor and the mayor called for the vote, after which the mayor stated “motion passes.” The ordinance is identified in the meeting materials as Ordinance 2025‑14, amending Appendix A, Article A5 (health‑related fees), specifically section A5.002. Council members asked questions and referenced local businesses by name during the discussion; no public comments related to the fee schedule were recorded in the meeting transcript.