Douglas County Board of Health approves phased increases to environmental health fees

The Douglas County Board of Health on Sept. 11 approved an update to the departmentenvironmental health fee schedule, endorsing a ramped increase intended to recover staffing costs that were not included in the department's 2022 fee calculations.

Skyler Secard, assistant director of environmental health, told the board the department wants to align local fees with state adjustments and factor in fringe benefits that had been omitted when the schedule was set three years earlier. "We've been a health department for 3 years now, so we can really see what expenditures we have had," Secard said.

Director Hill told the board state contributions to local programs have declined after recent state general‑fund decisions and that the department has not requested a fee increase in three years. "The governor took back some general fund contributions to the state health department, which is reducing allocations from them to us by 14 and a half percent," Hill said during the discussion.

The board discussed fee categories such as septic permits, pool inspections, body art establishment permits and child care environmental reviews. The department proposed a 10 to 15 percent annual increase over the next three years, then a reassessment. Board members said they recognized the difficulty of raising fees but emphasized the goal of avoiding general‑fund subsidies for services that should be fee‑supported.

After public comment was called and none was offered, the board moved and approved the fee schedule update. Staff said the changes are intended to get closer to cost recovery while maintaining service continuity.

The update is intended to allow the department to better match revenues with actual program costs, including staff benefits and increased personnel costs since 2022. The department also reported a roughly $1 million cash reserve to cushion expected funding volatility in coming years.