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Clallam County Board of Health adopts 2.7% CPI increase to environmental health fees, rejects proposed technology fee
Summary
After a public hearing, the Clallam County Board of Health voted April 21 to adopt a 2.7% annual CPI adjustment to the Environmental Health fee schedule and declined to add a proposed technology fee. The action follows staff presentations showing permit volumes and a recommendation to align fees with comparable jurisdictions.
The Clallam County Board of Health voted April 21 to repeal and replace language in County Code chapter 41.5 to apply a 2.7% consumer-price-index adjustment to the county's environmental health fee schedule, opting not to add a separate technology fee that staff had proposed.
Board members opened a public hearing after staff described the changes: routine annual CPI adjustments, a three-year full program-review cycle, and several categorical refinements (including a revised temporary-event "6-pack" permit for recurring vendors and a new reinspection/reinstall fee). Department staff said the adjustments were prompted by last year's budget process and by ongoing costs of software licensing and contractor support to transition permit systems.
Two members of the public testified: Jake Seager opposed CPI-based fee increases that affect housing affordability and argued that rising reliance on grants should prompt spending reductions rather than additional fees. Staff and several board members discussed the timing of a technology fee, with some favoring folding that discussion into next year's full program review.
Commissioner Randy Johnson moved to adopt the current fees adjusted by the 2.7% CPI column (excluding the technology fee); the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair characterized the decision as a middle-ground approach that keeps fees from lagging behind costs while reserving larger structural changes for a periodic review.
The ordinance language under discussion was identified in the record as changes to County Code chapter 41.5, Environmental Health, section 10(a). The board confirmed it has quorum for actions requiring at least two Clallam County commissioners. The fee column adopted by the board will take effect according to the department's implementation timeline and typical ordinance effective-date procedures.
The board said staff will return with the broader technology-fee and program-cost analysis during next year's full program-fee review cycle. No immediate additional fees were adopted at the April 21 meeting.
