The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners was briefed Tuesday, March 11, by Health Department officials on a proposal to increase health inspection fees on facilities like restaurants, food trucks, daycare centers, schools, pools and spas.
After five years without increases, the Health Department aims to realign the fees beginning in 2026 with the County’s “full cost recovery” policy of charging a fee for services at a level to recover 100% of the costs to provide them.
The specific amount of the increase will vary depending on the type of establishment and the specific license. At this point, the department has not determined the exact fee increase, but estimates it to be increased by 33%. The final fee increase will be determined once the Board votes to adopt the budget.
As Oregon’s second largest food safety program, the Health Department’s Environmental Health Division is responsible for assuring the health and safety of more than 5,000 facilities in Multnomah County. Inspectors are in the community seven days a week, performing approximately 13,000 inspections a year. The program's scope extends to various events and venues across the county, including festivals, farmers markets and sporting events.
“This is a very active program with a very real and comprehensive call to action,” said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “That level of service, to licensees and to the public, requires investment….I requested this briefing to support transparency around outreach and community engagement to ensure that licensees are informed about anticipated increases with adequate time to prepare and understand changes.”
The inspection program's 2024 activities included conducting over 700 reviews for new or changing facilities, Martin detailed; common violations can include lack of hot water, hand-washing issues and improper food temperatures. The team also investigated 218 foodborne illness incidents last year.
Historically, the program has been self-sustaining through licensing fees. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic decimated restaurants, pools and hotels, the County held fees steady to support impacted businesses by subsidizing the program with County General Fund dollars and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Since Fiscal Year 2021, over $8 million in County General Funds and $5.3 million in ARPA funds have subsidized the program.
Last year, the Board approved $1.1 million in General Fund dollars to fund the program for 2025, forgoing a 6% incremental fee increase proposed in late 2023. Before the pandemic and the pause in fees, facilities saw a 5-7% annual increase.
“After several years of supporting our local businesses through the hardships of a global pandemic, we now have to grapple with a return to our pre-pandemic funding model for sustainability, and that’s hard,” said Public Health Director Kirsten Aird.
“Multnomah County’s support for businesses has been generous and unparalleled, exceptional. And that puts us in this position now where it feels a bit more painful, where we have more ground to regain to get back to our prudent and sustainable cost recovery model. And this is the challenge.”
The Health Department has been working with the County’s Food Service Advisory Committee (FSAC), composed of food service owners, public representatives and industry representatives, on the rollout of the proposed fee increase, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. The outreach plan includes multilingual communication with approximately 4,000 licensees, engagement with community and industry groups, and an online FAQ and feedback form.
“Our goal in getting this communication out early is to provide operators with ample notice to start planning for the cost of an annual license,” said Environmental Health Director Andrea Hamberg. “We understand that these increases are difficult for some businesses to absorb. That’s why we’re approaching this differently, to build a lot of runway between now and January 2026.”
Aird ended the briefing explaining the critical roles the Public Health Division and the Board play together in protecting the health of the community.
“Our job in the Public Health Division is to tell you what it takes to run a world-class public health inspections program to keep people safe and businesses open and to fulfill our regulatory responsibilities,” she said.
“And your job is to determine the best strategy to fund that essential public health function. While today is a briefing and you’re all not at a decision point yet, we’re really grateful to be here to have this time to share this information with you and to support you as you move forward in these conversations.”
Commissioners raised several concerns, particularly regarding the impact on small businesses and the clarity of the proposed fee structure. Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards questioned the level of engagement with restaurants and the lack of a detailed fee schedule.
Aird clarified that the fee schedule would be developed after the Chair’s executive budget is released in April.
Referencing her previous experience with conducting outreach to restaurant owners that showed her “surveys and emails worked for some communities and not so great for others,” Commissioner Shannon Singleton pressed for further information about the department’s engagement approach. “I would really like to hear more about your community engagement plan and how you'll engage with folks that maybe that's not the most culturally appropriate form of communication.”
Martin explained that his team uses demographic information from food handler permits to know what languages are most spoken to adapt educational material as needed.
“This is a program where our folks are out in the community. They’re at events, they're at facilities, having conversations with operators and workers,” said Hamberg. “So we often use that as a strategy for sharing important information, an actual touch point in the space where folks are doing their work.”
Commissioner Meghan Moyer asked the presenters to share more about the decision to propose a one-time increase.
“What was your reasoning for going with an all-at-once jump versus last year's proposal [of incremental adjustments]?” she asked.
“The budget outlook is dramatically different this year than last year,” answered Hamberg. “And we were faced with really difficult decisions in the division and the department about where to put scarce dollars. And ultimately, this is the proposal we put forward.”
She also emphasized that the program's costs are dictated by state statutes and that these fees can be used only for the purposes of administering the program.
Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon expressed interest in having the Health Department speak with city councils of the four cities within District Four. “I want them to hear directly from you all as far as the impact the fees would have or the proposal you've made.”
The briefing concluded with an acknowledgement of the work it will take to find a path forward that both supports local businesses and maintains the inspections program.
Chair Vega Pederson shared that she appreciated the presenters for supporting “the Board in contemplating next steps as we continue balancing stability for small business owners with our Health Department's need for a quality inspections program that keeps us in compliance with our regulatory responsibilities.”
Further discussions about the proposed fee will be held during the budget process.