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Lee County to hold public hearing on overhaul of environmental health fees; vote postponed
Summary
Lee County public-health officials presented a proposal to replace occupancy-based restaurant and hotel fees with risk-based tiers and to update septic and other environmental fees that have not changed since 2004. Commissioners agreed to a public hearing on Feb. 24 and tabled a vote until after the hearing.
Lee County public-health officials told the County Commission they will ask the commission to approve a standardized, restructured schedule of environmental health fees and requested a public hearing on Feb. 24 before any vote.
County Administrator for Public Health James Harden and District Environmental Services Director Wes Rogers said the county’s current fee schedule — unchanged since February 2004 — is confusing and uneven and that the proposed schedule shifts some fees from an occupancy basis to risk- and service-based tiers.
The proposal would replace occupancy-based restaurant fees with four risk categories tied to how often kitchens must be inspected. Harden said restaurants currently charged by maximum seating could pay for an occupancy they rarely reach; under the new plan “we’ve moved that to a category 1, 2, 3, and 4, which basically is the risk of that kitchen…
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