County needs to rethink new fee

Taylor County should put the brakes on attempts to squeeze money out of commercial food vendors at fairs, festivals and community events.

Earlier this spring, community event organizers received letters from the Taylor County Health Department asking them to provide contact information for all food vendors that will be at upcoming events and informing organizers that each food vendor would now be charged a new $50 county fee. Food trucks already licensed in Taylor County would not be charged the additional fee, but it would apply if restaurants were selling off-site such as during Parkfest held at the Medford City Park each August.

The additional fee will also be charged for each food vendor that is part of the carnival at the Taylor County Fair.

Carnivals, food truck operators and restaurants face heavy regulation in Wisconsin with the intent of protecting public health from food-borne pathogens. They are licensed and inspected. In a typical year, these inspection fees can be hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

While the health department has routinely done inspections of food vendor booths at events such as the Taylor County Fair, in the past there was not a separate charge for this. In the wake of the new fee, event organizers have reported a drop in vendor interest in coming to events in Taylor County as well as vendors pulling out of events entirely.

While $50 may not seem like a great deal of money, especially in comparison to the multi-million dollar government budgets, it is worth remembering that the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back is not the heaviest load, but the last one. Food vendors operate on a narrow margin. Restaurants, food trucks and similar businesses have been hit hard by massive increases in costs of ingredients and supplies. In addition, profit margins have been made even more narrow through rising inventory, labor and transportation costs. Added to this is the inherent risk that Wisconsin’s increasingly volatile weather can bring success or failure depending on whether or not the sun is shining.

Fees for services have been a go-to for cash-strapped government agencies for a long time. The state of Wisconsin has used them frequently through such things as the ever-increasing cost of registering vehicles, recognizing that a fee is more politically palatable than a tax increase. This has trickled down to county and municipal governments. Whatever it is called, at the end of the day the business owner’s bottom line is bleeding red to bring the government into the black.

While it is possible to pass some costs on to consumers, event vendors can only go so far before they will price themselves out of the marketplace. There is an upper limit on what even the deepest-pocketed event attendee is willing to pay for a carnival corndog, funnel cake or walking taco.

Loss of vendors and reduced sales due to having to pass along new costs have long-term negative impacts. Reduction in sales results in a loss of the local sales taxes these businesses pay. It reduces the amounts of their payrolls and in the long-term, negatively impacts people’s perception of events contributing to a reduction in attendance.

What is good for the county’s bottom line may not be good for the community as a whole. Taylor County should pause implementation of this new inspection fee and determine if it is needed to cover the actual cost of the service rendered or if it is just another way to pick the pockets of businesses owners.