Beginning Monday business owners in Cobb and Douglas counties will be paying more for state-mandated inspections of such facilities as restaurants, swimming pools and hotels.
This month commissioners in both counties approved the first of three rounds of fee increases for the inspections done by the Environmental Health Center of the Cobb and Douglas Public Health Department.
The environmental health inspections are separate from business licenses and must be completed at least once a year in most cases. In addition to pools, restaurants and hotels, the inspections cover septic systems, body art establishments and trailer parks.
The first fee increase of 14.3 percent, or $155,000, was implemented as a way to reduce the department’s reliance on government funding, which has been cut at the state and local levels.
“This is an attempt to move toward having [environmental health] be self-sustaining and move away from a reliance on state and county grants,” said Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, who worked with health officials on devising the fee schedule.
Officials are working toward making the environmental health program self-supporting over the next three to five years.
The health department last increased its inspection fee schedules in 2008. Since then the costs of providing the inspection services have increased, and over the same period about $1 million in government grants have been cut from the health board.
In fiscal 2011, county and state subsidies accounted for 30 percent, or $481,000, of the environmental health division’s $1.5 million in revenue. The majority of the revenue -- 68 percent, or just over $1 million -- came from fees paid by county businesses.
Still, the fee revenue hasn’t kept pace with expenses, said Chris Hutcheson, director of the environmental health center. “It would be reasonable to say that the fees should pay for the cost of the services, so that is what we’re trying to do [with the increase],” he said.
Most affected by the fee hike will be restaurants that cook raw food and meat, including fast-food chains like McDonald's. The $325 annual inspections for these restaurants -- which account for more than half of the health inspectors’ workload -- are going up between $60 and $115, depending on the size of the restaurant.
More than three-fourths of the three rounds of fee increases would come from this group. And even with the rate hikes that begin next week, inspections for these restaurants would need to go up an additional 35 percent to fully offset the department’s inspection costs, according to data provided by the health board.
For restaurant owners, the increases are nonnegotiable, said Martin Neff, general manager of Doc’s Food and Spirits, located in Smyrna for 30 years.
“You don’t really have a choice. You can’t tell the health inspector they can’t come in, or not pay the fee,” he said. “Business owners’ hands are tied. If you don’t pay, they can shut you down.”
Restaurant owners will be notified of the new fees when they receive their invoices, Hutcheson said. The annual inspection fee for restaurants in the county will rise to $385-$440, depending on various factors such as seating capacity.
The second and third rounds of rate hikes will have to be approved by the commissioners before they are implemented.
Sample costs for environmental health inspection fees
Risk Type II (largest category) food service establishments, annual fee:
Cobb/Douglas (newly approved) $385/$415/$440*
Cherokee $425
Clayton $400
DeKalb $225/$483/$751*
Fulton $400
Gwinnett $400/$600*
* -- tiered levels based on size and factors including seating capacity
Tourist accommodations, annual fee, 51 or more rooms:
Cobb/Douglas (newly approved) $420
Cherokee $400
Clayton $350
DeKalb $610
Fulton $500
Gwinnett $650
Public swimming pools, annual fee:
Cobb/Douglas (newly approved) $260/$300*
Cherokee $200/$625 (based on pool size)
Clayton $335
DeKalb $315
Fulton $250
Gwinnett $200/$400*
* -- fees based on seasonal or year-round operation and inspection frequency
Source: Cobb Board of Health
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