Multnomah County health department to notify thousands of licensees about planned restaurant inspection fee increase

Multnomah County's Public Health Division told the Board of County Commissioners on March 11 that the county's environmental health inspections program serves more than 5,000 licensed facilities and carries out roughly 14,000 to 15,000 inspections a year, and that staff are preparing outreach to licensees about a proposed fee increase.

"We are your new public health director," Kirsten Aird said in her first presentation to the board in the role, then outlined the department's plan for notifying operators if commissioners approve a change. "We have prepared a draft communication to all licensees translated into the five most common languages used in our licensed facilities. Next week we'll mail these letters to approximately 4,000 licensees and email them to nearly 5,000 email addresses," she said.

Environmental health managers said the inspection program covers restaurants, mobile units, pools, spas, hotels, motels and recreational camps. Jeff Martin, environmental health manager, said the team completed about 14,000 inspections in 2024, conducted more than 700 weekend inspections during the busiest summer periods, and completed over 700 plan reviews for new or change-of-ownership facilities. The office tracked and investigated 218 reports of suspected foodborne illness in 2024.

Public health staff said the county previously delayed routine license fee increases after the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce pressure on businesses. Since fiscal year 2020-21, the county has provided about $8,000,000 in general-fund support to the health inspections program and about $5,300,000 in ARPA funding to directly aid the food service industry, staff said.

After five years of deferred increases, the department estimates an effective cumulative increase of roughly 33% in the program offer for FY 2026, representing a reconnection to the county's full-cost-recovery policy, though officials said the exact fee schedule will be developed after the chair's budget is released and will be presented for board deliberation.

Staff outlined an outreach plan to give businesses nearly eight months of notice before a potential calendar-year 2026 fee change. The outreach will include multilingual letters, translated FAQs and a public comment form on the county website. Staff said they will engage community partners including the Portland Mercado, APANO, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association and Travel Portland.

The presentation said the department has worked with a Food Service Advisory Committee (FSAC) made up of owners, industry partners and food-safety professionals. Committee members cited a preference for smaller, steady annual increases rather than large multi-year adjustments, staff said.

Commissioners asked for additional data and promised follow-up before any final decision. Commissioner questions emphasized the potential impact on small, independent restaurants and food carts, the structure of increases (single-year versus multi-year), and how the department will reach operators who opened during the fee freeze.

Ending: Staff said a detailed fee schedule will be published when the chair's budget is issued and that the department will return with community feedback during budget deliberations.