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Fulton County adopts changes to environmental health fees to align with metro peers
Summary
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a revised fee schedule for environmental health services after a presentation by the district health director, who said the changes charge for certain services the county previously provided without a fee.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 adopted a change to the environmental health fee schedule after a presentation from Dr. Marcus Plesha, the Fulton County district health director. The board approved the resolution by recorded vote following commissioners’ questions about methodology and inspector staffing.
Dr. Plesha said the revisions reflect a comparison with other Metro Atlanta districts and are meant to recover costs for services that previously carried no fee. “We brought forward a number of changes to the fee schedule we have for environmental health at the Board of Health meeting, the one before last,” he said, adding the intent was to match fees to the scope of work and ensure sustainability.
Commissioners pressed staff on how the county benchmarked fees and whether any changes were material. County staff said the fee study compared Fulton’s services and charges to neighboring counties and that many items being added represent inspections and reinspection work that other jurisdictions already bill for. Vice Chair Khadija Abdul Rahman moved the motion to adopt; the motion passed on the recorded vote.
The adopted schedule includes new charges for additional inspections and certain services that had been provided without fees; staff said some items were lowered to comply with state rules (for example, septic-contractor exam fees). County leaders said the revenue is intended to sustain expanded environmental health capacity, including recent hires of additional inspectors.
The measure was introduced at the Board of Health and approved by the Board of Commissioners after public presentation and commissioner questions. The change takes effect per the language in the resolution and county procurement procedures.
