Leonardtown, MD — The Commissioners of St. Marty’s County, on a 3-2 vote, have approved increases in environmental health fees. The increases for the 15 separate fees are generally 13 percent although one incerase is 19 percent. Commissioners Mike Hewitt [R – 2nd District] and John O’Connor [R – 3rd District] voted against the fee increases.

St. Mary’s County Health Officer Dr. Meenakshi Brewster (shown at left) had argued that the fees had not increased since 2007, yet there had been almost a 50 percent increase in demand for services combined with an 11 percent reduction in the environmental health staff.

The bulk of the estimated $30,000-$35,000 raised with the fee increases would be used, according to Dr. Brewster, to digitize about 250,000 pages of land records to make processing of application quicker. “The success of continued improved performance and workforce efficiency is now tied to the implementation of an electronic document management system,” she said.

The proposed use of the money generated by the fee increase caught the attention of O’Connor and contributed to his no vote. O’Connor said that as a businessman his experience was that such expenditures allowed for reductions in operating costs.

O’Connor said automating processing allowed his business to avoid hiring additional staff. He noted that instead of raising fees, the one-time cost for such computerization should be budgeted.

O’Connor said he had heard from a number of restaurant owners expressing concerns about the proposed fee increases for various food service licenses. The Temporary Food Service permit was proposed to have the 19-percent increase (from $42 to $50).

But to counter O’Connor’s argument, Commissioner Tom Jarboe [R – 1st District] said those receiving the benefit of the service should be paying for it instead of spreading the costs among all taxpayers.

Commissioner President Randy Guy, in supporting the increase said it would speed up the licensing process. “I am one-hundred percent in favor,” he said.

The fee increases are effective immediately.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com