Hikes to Environmental Health Fees
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a series of increases to fees for permits issued by the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, in some cases raising charges by double-digit percentages.
In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on agency Director Jeff Johnson’s request to alter the fee schedule going into fiscal year 2025-26.
The Department of Environmental Health relies on the regional Consumer Price Index to gauge inflationary pressures on its budget, as well as consider other factors, such as demand on staff and resources, to make decisions regarding how much to raise fees in specific categories.
The agency minimized fee changes from 2020 to 2023, but returned with a request for significant revisions last year.
“We go back and analyze what we do. We ask if we can do some things better, create efficiencies,” Johnson told the board at that time. “We’ve had to absorb costs internally, but we’re a lean machine.”
The permit and inspection fees the department will increase cover a broad regulatory scheme, from food facilities to farm stands, and swimming pools to septic tanks.
Among the fees due to be increased is the cost for a new tattoo parlor plan check, which will go from $526 to $796, a 34% jump.
The inspection fee assessed for a swimming pool replaster will increase to $398, compared to $252 now, a 37% difference.
The cost of inspecting a commissary’s prepackaged food items will go from $682 to $705, up 3%. A new fee will be established for inspecting unpackaged edibles in a commissary, $776.
A new fee will also apply for fulfilling a public records request, which will result in a $7 up-front charge.
To inspect an outlet selling tobacco products will cost $502 after July 1. The current charge is $477. The cost of scrutinizing sanitary standards of a produce stand will go from $299 to $315, a 5% change, and the inspection of any temporary event that involves commercial food sales or distribution will go from $318 to $326, a 2% uptick.
A few fees will be left unchanged, including the food handler certification fee, which will remain at $28. The department’s overall administrative processing fee will stay at $82.
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