This is an ordinance that amends Chapter 1.40 in the Snohomish County Board of Health Code, which covers the Health Department fee schedule. The Snohomish County Board of Health last adjusted fee amounts in April 2024 via Ordinance No. BOH24-01, and those changes took effect on November 1, 2024.
Environmental Health Budget Background
The Environmental Health Division’s 2025 revenue budget for 2025 is $15,597,025. About 40% of that budget is comprised of fees collected for providing regulatory services, and fees are a major source of funding for each Environmental Health program. However, fees do not fully cover total costs and Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) funding, grants and contracts, and other flexible funds are needed to fill the gap between fee revenue and total costs. The Health Department is preparing to update the software used to track staff time and activities, and this may help improve data quality for future fee studies and cost analyses.
SCHD is striving to recover program costs via fees, but still needs a more formalized cost recovery strategy. There is some gray area between where fees are expected to cover 100% of costs and where other funding may be appropriate to subsidize costs. It is also important to note that Snohomish County fees are currently comparable to fees set by other local health jurisdictions. While local health jurisdictions all calculate their rates differently, it is not advantageous to raise fees well beyond this bracket of comparability.
Proposed 2025 Fee Adjustment
Historically, fees have been adjusted every year based on the previous year’s negotiated cost-of-living increase for Environmental Health staff. The 2026 staff cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was published in July; based on the timing of this ordinance, it is possible to proactively capture both the 2025 COLA (3.63%) and the 2026 COLA (2.72%) into this fee adjustment. This may help set a precedent for updating fees based on the current year’s COLA which would better connect current fees to current costs.
Therefore, this proposal includes an across-the-board 5% increase over all fees, with some exceptions (see below). The 5% adjustment directly corelates to the combined 2025-26 COLA of 6.35%. The 1.35% gap left between this proposal and the COLA will be reassessed during the 2026 annual fee adjustment and may be incorporated then.
Deviations from Proposed 2025 Fee Adjustment
There are some exceptions to the proposed 5% increase to all fees. First, this proposal would adjust the division-wide hourly rate from $225 to $235. It would not adjust late fees and the Health Officer’s Order fee. The rest of the deviations are grouped by Environmental Health program below:
Food Safety Program:
- Food Safety fees would increase by 10% instead of by 5%. The additional 5% would support plan review capacity building.
- In 1.40.040, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) review fee would be lowered from $2,100 to $900. The multiple permit facility review fee would be set to be the equivalent to the hourly rate. The consultation fee would be left at the hourly rate to encourage use.
- Many fees in 1.40.041 and 1.40.044 follow a low/medium/high risk structure. These fees would be adjusted to keep a uniform percent difference between each of those distinctions.
- Many fees in 1.40.042 would be standardized to the same fee amount of an applicable food establishment permit fee. This includes bakeries, bed and breakfasts, and campgrounds being set to the equivalent of a low risk food establishment, caterers being set to the equivalent of a 0-50 seat food establishment, vending machines being set to the equivalent of half a low risk food establishment, and mobile food units being set to a 0-50 seat food establishment.
- In 1.40.044, the additional location of a recurring event would be set to be the same fee as a single temporary event fee. An additional location option would also be added to the food demonstrator permit with the same proposed price break as the recurring event additional location.
Safe Environments Program (covers pools, schools, group camps, and illegal drugs):
- There has not historically been a fee associated with school site reviews in 1.40.070, but this proposal would set this to one hour’s worth of the hourly rate.
- The pre-occupancy inspection in 1.40.080 was originally an additional line on the fee schedule. This proposal would roll that inspection fee into each plan review fee to give an applicant a better sense of true costs.
- The water recreational facilities office conference in 1.40.082 would be standardized to the office conference offering in the Food Safety program.
Land Use Program:
- In 1.40.090, some language in the fee descriptions would be modified. For community systems, “Permit” would be replaced with “Per service connection fee” to better describe the charge. For renewals, language would be added to state that renewals must meet current code.
- Land use review fees in 1.40.093 were originally set at one hour of the hourly rate ($225). Analysis has shown that these reviews typically take about two hours, so the fee would increase to two hours of the adjusted hourly rate ($470).
- Monitoring and maintenance report submittal fees for inspections and pumpings (both found in 1.40.094) would be increased from $40 to $42 and $12 to $13, respectively.
- There were some inconsistencies in subdivision review fees in 1.40.095 - some were set at $145, and some were set at $150. They would all be adjusted to be $150.
Vital Records:
- Most Vital Records fees are set at the state level. However, there is a new state offering for a no-cost birth certificate for school enrollment. The eligibility requirements are set in SB 5030. This option would now be reflected in the fee schedule.
Outreach and Next Steps
Staff are currently consulting interested parties that will be affected by this proposed change in fees. The Master Builders Association and the Washington Hospitality Association were briefed in late August. The proposed fee adjustments have also been posted on the Health Department website and shared via newsletter to regulated community members. No comments have been received as of early September.
Action on this ordinance is planned for the October Board of Health meeting. As this matter relates to fees, only elected officials on the Board of Health will be eligible to vote. If adopted, this proposed fee increase would take effect November 1, 2025.