Madison County votes down effort to lower food truck fees
A proposed $200 reduction in the cost of Madison County Wellbeing Department inspection expenses for foodstuff vehicles was overwhelmingly voted down at Wednesday’s County Board meeting.
A resolution lessening the cost to $175 from the present $375 experienced been postponed at the June assembly so board customers could get a closer appear at the proposal.
Proponents had claimed the reduced fee would motivate food stuff vans and could draw visitors into the region. Opponents explained a reduce fee was unfair to traditional “brick and mortar” dining places.
On Wednesday the board voted 21-3 towards the resolution, with a single abstention.”No” voters integrated Well being Division Chairman Mike Babcock, R-Bethalto, who at first introduced the resolution.
Voting for the reduced service fees were being Monthly bill Meyer, R-Hamel, who participated by using phone Invoice Stoutenborough, D-Alton and Bruce Malone, D-Alton. Malone stated he was voting in favor because he experienced made a previous motivation to do so, or else he would have also voted “no.”
Abstaining was Valerie Doucleff, R-Godfrey, who was also taking part by telephone but said she could not hear substantially of the discussion. Users Chris Guy, R-Maryville and Erica Conway-Harriss, R-Glen Carbon, have been absent.
The consensus was that reducing the price for an believed 14 food stuff vehicles operating in the county was unfair to close to 1,400 standard dining places that would continue to pay out the entire inspection charge. The rate composition was instituted in 2018. Mobile food stuff vans are thought of Group 1 and Class 2 institutions and inspected the identical as other restaurants and eateries.
Babcock mentioned that extending the same reduction to all of the county’s restaurants would expense the Health and fitness Office about $280,000 per year.
A different challenge was that, in some situations, neighborhood municipalities such as Alton have their own price for food stuff vehicles. County board users mentioned people municipalities really should contemplate decreasing or doing away with their charges ahead of looking for a reduction by the county.
The fee reduction was proposed just after Alton officers and house owners of Alton’s new foodstuff truck park, Flock, came to a Madison County Well being Office assembly inquiring the county to consider decreasing the inspection price.
On Wednesday, Madison County Administrator Dave Tanzyus said the county may well consider some kind of regional licensing program for the foods vehicles at a later day.
In other Wellness Office-related organization Wednesday, the board approved paying out up to $70,000 for vaccines from Sanofi Pasteur, a Chicago-centered business.
The board also authorized a range of objects a $195,710 deal to Byrne & Jones Development of Bridgeton, Missouri, for parking ton improvements at the county’s Wooden River Facility. The challenge involves rebuilding the principal drive to the huge parking whole lot, the Health Division and Employment and Instruction parking plenty, and surfacing several handicapped areas on the major parking lot, which is gravel.
Also accredited were 5 different unexpected emergency appropriations to pay out for non-budgeted things.
They incorporated $29,000 for the state’s attorney’s business office to retain outside the house counsel for the judicial subcircuit court docket challenge authorized by the board $138,809.16 to the sheriff’s office to deal with the cost of a deputy who will function with the Illinois Department of Youngsters and Family members Products and services below a new grant application $22,007 for the Child Care Advocacy Heart for iCloud file storage of forensic interviews $20,000 for a Loved ones Violence Avoidance Coordinating Council grant and $121,110 to the information engineering section for Arctic Wolf security checking products and services, which will be compensated out of ARPA cash.
The board also accredited settling a Workers’ Compensation assert for $39,356.47 and acquire of extra liability, residence and earthquake insurance policies coverage for $829,064 from quite a few distributors.
