Board adopts Health Department fee changes; county to begin issuing birth certificates July 1

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on June 17 approved Ordinance 2025‑02 to amend health‑services fees and to add new services, including issuing birth certificates, a county official said.

Jeff Terrell, Santa Cruz County health services director, presented a range of proposed changes and new fees and said the department sought to align some charges with state fees and actual staff costs. Terrell said the county will begin issuing certified birth certificates on July 1 and that the fee for a birth or death certificate will be $20. He also said birth corrections or amendments would be $25.

Terrell described several other changes the board approved: raising the engineers/contractors per‑permit fee from $50 to $75 because staff spends more time on percolation tests and inspections; increasing the fee for very large retail food establishments (over 5,000 square feet) to $600; and matching the state septic notice‑of‑transfer fee at $70. He said mobile food unit plan reviews will increase from $100 to $200 and that tasting‑room plan reviews would be $300, with tasting rooms that serve limited food paying $300 and tasting rooms that do not serve food paying $250.

Terrell said the department also created or clarified fees for campground delegation, commissary licenses for mobile vendors (by rule), seasonal temporary permits for schools, and a temporary RV‑park permitting option that is in county code. For permits that have expired, he proposed substantial reductions for renewals: a septic permit (originally $3,350) returned after expiration would be charged roughly half the original fee on reapplication, and a tank‑replacement application (originally $350) would likewise be reduced by half.

Terrell told the board that one tangible cost driver is the special paper used for certificates: “a box of that cost me around $700,” he said, explaining why the fee must cover material costs. He said staff are training to issue birth certificates and hoped the new service would be available July 1.

Supervisor Carlos Davis and Vice Chairman Fanning thanked Terrell and staff for the review. The transcript records a motion, a vote and a unanimous approval: the supervisors voted “aye” and the motion carried.

The ordinance sets the fee schedule and authorizes staff to implement the new and revised fee categories. No changes to the ordinance were recorded on the floor during the meeting.