Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lincoln County moves to adopt updated health department fee schedule after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing, the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners moved to adopt Resolution 2026-8, updating the county health department fee schedule to align with new state categories created by House Bill 853 and to recoup plan‑review and inspection costs. Commissioners discussed septic permit site‑visit policies before voting.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners opened a public hearing March 11 to consider Resolution 2026-8, a move to adopt an updated Lincoln County Health Department fee schedule intended to align county fees with the 2025 Montana Legislature's House Bill 853 and to better cover the costs of plan reviews, inspections and permitting.
County staff read the resolution aloud and walked the commission through the proposed fee changes, which include new and revised charges across plan review and permitting categories. Examples read into the record included proposed fees for food-service plan reviews (small $60; medium $115; large $150), mobile food plan reviews (small $60; large $115), and a proposed multi-use wastewater system permit fee of $500. Proposed changes to septic permitting ranged from priority EQ approval (proposed $200) to homeowner-installed gravity-system first site-visit fees (proposed $250); variance applications were listed with a proposed fee of $400.
A member of the public asked for clarification about how many site inspections are included with a septic permit and whether an applicant could be charged twice. County staff responded that a regular septic permit includes a single on-site inspection and that additional follow-up visits would be charged at the stated follow-up rate. The county attorney's office had reviewed the proposal, staff said, and the board then moved to a vote on the resolution.
A motion to adopt Resolution 2026-8 was moved and seconded; after public comment and staff clarification the board proceeded to a voice vote. County staff said the new schedule is intended to ensure that fees are reasonably related to the cost of providing public-health services and to reflect workload increases in plan reviews, wastewater applications and subdivision reviews.
Next steps: staff will finalize documentation and the county will publish the adopted fee schedule and administrative details for implementation.
