Council greenlights restaurant permit fee

Council approved the 2008–09 fee schedule, including the new fee for restaurants, during its regular meeting.

The fee will range from $100 to $325 depending on an eatery’s risk category, which is based on handling of potentially hazardous foods, business volume and previous violations. The city estimates the fee would generate about $230,000 for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department’s operating budget.

A last-minute effort to table the restaurant fee portion of the fee schedule, which also comprises the city’s charges for numerous building and development services, was unsuccessful. Councilman Doug Burlison proposed an amendment to the bill that would have removed the restaurant fee.

“I’m not sure that we have looked at this as extensively as we should, given some of the feedback we’ve gotten from members of the restaurant community,” Burlison said at the meeting. “I’d move that we remove the restaurant fee from this bill and revisit that at a later time on its own.”

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky seconded the motion, stating she was not opposed to the idea of restaurants paying for their inspections but was concerned about the lack of understanding of the proposal among restaurant owners.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, however, pointed out that the fee would not take effect until Jan. 1, giving the health department six months to visit with restaurant owners and explain how the new fees would work.

He also mentioned that other municipalities across the state have similar charges; fees in Kansas City and St. Louis County reach as high as $500, while Christian County charges $2 per seat and Polk County charges $100 to $200.

The motion failed 7-2, at which point council unanimously approved the fee schedule.

Fee Schedule

Among the city fees that will increase:

Sidewalk café permit: up 11.6 percent to $530

Conditional use permit: up 12 percent to $1,120

Zoning request: up 12 percent to $1,120

Preliminary planned development: up 12.3 percent to $1,595

Preliminary plat: up 12 percent to $885

Final plat (administrative): up 12.1 percent to $370

Final plat (commission/council): up 11.9 percent to $845

Annexation request: up 6.3 percent to $670

Street name change: up 11 percent to $555

See SBJ’s June 23 issue for more Springfield City Council news.[[In-content Ad]]