County Decides to Raise Health Inspection Fees

Following a yearlong review, county supervisors agreed Tuesday to raise health inspection fees for the first time in 20 years and step up inspections at area restaurants.

Officials say the changes were necessitated by a growing concern over food-borne illnesses caused by such threats as E. coli bacteria, and by a growing number of businesses that sell food.

The changes to the county’s environmental health codes apply to all businesses that sell food in Ventura County, from gas station mini-marts and farmers’ markets to bars and restaurants.

The new fees will add $120,000 in revenue for the county, money that officials say will be used to hire two supervising health specialists and one additional inspector.

The changes take effect Jan. 1.

Officials said the county’s codes had not been revised since 1978, before there were such things as video stores with candy shelves or gas station mini-marts selling hot dogs and nachos.

Currently, all businesses that sell food are inspected twice a year regardless of how many customers are served.

The changes mean county health inspectors will now make fewer visits to businesses that sell soft drinks and wrapped candy, and more to businesses where food is prepared.

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Fees will be assessed on a tiered scale based on the potential risk for food-borne illnesses, officials said.

Most restaurants will see their fees raised by about $100. Fees for the county’s largest hotels, some of which have several kitchens, eateries, gift shops and bars, could increase more dramatically because they will now be charged fees for each location where food is served, officials said.

Last year, 17 county environmental health inspectors made routine checks at 3,666 retail food businesses. They ordered 37 of those facilities closed until violations were corrected. Just one of those businesses--an Oxnard restaurant that county officials declined to name--was ordered permanently closed, officials said.

Supervisors by consensus said they opposed moves by some jurisdictions to create a report card system, where cleanliness ratings are posted in restaurant windows.

Even a restaurant with a stellar report card could turn sour the next day, Supervisor Judy Mikels argued, and that could potentially open up the county to liability risks.

However, the fee increases still drew criticism from some restaurant owners and taxpayer advocates.

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John Zaruka, owner of the Wedgewood Banquet Center in Ventura and a member of the California Restaurant Assn.’s board of directors, said restaurants themselves are responding to recent media exposure regarding food-borne illnesses.

He said environmental health inspectors already are doing a commendable job.

“We’re trying to create a problem where there isn’t one,” he said.

Michael Saliba, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn., argued that the increased fees unfairly imposed higher fees on businesses with clean health records.

Supervisors ultimately agreed.

In approving the new fees, they ordered county environmental health department officials to return to the board with a proposal that rewards restaurants and other businesses that consistently receive good health inspection report cards.