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Sonoma County adopts updated Department of Health Services fees, including large increase proposed for DUI program
Summary
The Board approved a package of fee updates across animal services, environmental health, the public health lab and the DUI program; the department said proposed increases ranged up to 43% for some services but later described a 35% adjustment for certain DUI program elements.
Sonoma County’s Department of Health Services (DHS) presented a multi‑part fee update on Aug. 12 that the Board adopted after a public hearing.
Director Nolan Sullivan said the net revenue effects would be modest in some programs and larger in others: an estimated +$13,000 in animal services revenue, about ‑$76,000 in environmental health (covered in part by stabilization funds), roughly +$36,000 in the public health laboratory and about +$621,000 from changes to the DUI program. "The proposed fee increases again range from 2% to 43%, the 43% being that DUI fee," Sullivan told supervisors; later in the presentation staff also referenced a 35% figure for DUI program adjustments, reflecting a multi‑part fee package and differing program baselines noted in staff slides.
Notable items include new fees for private pet cremations in animal services; a microenterprise home kitchen operation (MECO) fee intended to support a new food entrepreneurship program and subsidized start‑up costs; a new MALDI‑TOF wastewater surveillance fee for the public health lab; and the removal of a small overpayment penalty in the DUI program. Staff said the county seeks to move toward cost recovery for many services while keeping low‑income fee structures in place where required.
Supervisors asked about MECO subsidization, the construction financing context and affordability protections for fee payers. The Board adopted the package by voice vote with staff noting effective dates vary (some items require a second reading or later effective dates; others become effective Sept. 1 or Oct. 1 depending on the item).
