To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nolan Sullivan, 707-565-4774; Amelyn Olson, 707-565-2696
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Department of Health Services Fees 2nd Reading
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt an ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, adopting new fees and adjusting fees effective October 1, 2025, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services.” (Second Reading)
B) Adopt an ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, adopting new fees and adjusting fees effective October 1, 2025, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory.” (Second Reading)
end
Executive Summary:
On August 12, 2025 at a regular meeting, the Board of Supervisors introduced ordinances to adopt new fees and adjust existing fees for the Department of Health Services (hereinafter “DHS” or “the Department”), in the areas of Animal Services and the Public Health Laboratory, effective October 1, 2025. This Board item recommends adoption of those ordinances.
The Board of Supervisors is authorized to establish fees to recover the reasonable cost of providing certain services. Fees are imposed for a specific benefit conferred or service provided directly to the payor that is not provided to those not charged, and which does not exceed the reasonable cost to provide the benefit or service. Fees are also imposed for reasonable regulatory costs including enforcement inspections, investigations, and audits.
The Department requests an effective date of October 1, 2025 for new and amended fees associated with Sonoma County Animal Services and the Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory. Adding or revising fees in these areas requires Board adoption of an ordinance (Attachments 1 and 4).
Discussion:
Sonoma County Animal Services
Sonoma County Animal Services (SCAS) provides sheltering and field services to areas within their jurisdiction, including unincorporated areas of the County, the City of Santa Rosa, and the City of Healdsburg. SCAS is also responsible for rabies control for the entire County. The SCAS service area is comprised of approximately 1,575 square miles, comprised of nearly 500,000 residents, and includes an animal shelter that serves nearly 2,500 animals annually.
Program Fees
The Department is proposing fee revisions to all SCAS fees. In addition, four new fees have been included in the recommended fees and charges schedule to recover costs and process deposits. (Attachment 2)
Fee Increases over 3% and New Fees
FY 2025-2026 Fee increases vary between 2% and 43%. Fees recommended for increases above 3% are recommended to recoup actual costs.
Four new fees were added to provide the public with private cremation options for their pets:
• Private Pet Cremations 3-49lbs: $115.00
• Private Pet Cremations 50-99lbs: $150.00
• Private Pet Cremations 100+lbs: $235.00
• Private Pet Cremation Processing: $17.00
SCAS estimated revenue based on proposed fee amounts is $639,515, an increase of $13,031 over current fee estimates.
Public Health Laboratory
The Public Health Laboratory provides clinical, environmental, and rabies testing. These fee-based testing services aid doctors, hospitals, acute care facilities, environmental health agencies, and Sonoma County Animal Services in diagnosing and performing enforcement duties.
Program Fees
The Public Health Laboratory Fee Schedule was last updated for FY 2023-2024. Because no fee increase was implemented in FY 2024-2025, the Department is proposing an approximate 8% increase to most Public Health Laboratory fees.
Public Health Laboratory fees (Attachment 5) are set at below full-cost recovery amounts and are subsidized with grants and 1991 Health Realignment funding. The subsidy is not based on a per fee rate, but on the overall Public Health Laboratory cost. In FY 2024-2025, Realignment funding subsidized a budgeted amount of $727,000. Providing market-rate, subsidized services to the public and non-government organizations allows the Department to recover a portion of the cost of operating the laboratory by performing tests that meet a public benefit.
Fee Increases over 3% and New Fees
Public Health Laboratory fees will see an approximate 8% increase across all categories, due to the results of Wohlford Consulting’s cost study. This includes substantial increases in the Clinical Molecular Laboratory, which will see a 31% increase in the Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV fee, correcting a prior fee calculation error.
New Fees
Other significant fee additions include new tests for Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) Identification for bacterial and mycobacterial organisms, a variety of CDC Human Influenza panels, and wastewater surveillance services, such as SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory panels, along with sequencing services. Additionally, the Brucella species RT-PCR test, previously exempt under Biothreat Agent testing, will now be fee-based under the Clinical Molecular Laboratory because Brucella was removed from the Select Agent List.
Other new fees introduced cover specialized areas like algal toxin testing, with fees for Microcystins, Cylindrospermin, and Anatoxin-a; this is a new service being offered at the Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory. There are also new charges for tick identification (historically, a complementary service rolled into the Tick Test for Lyme), wastewater surveillance bundles (new service), and bacterial pathogen sequencing (new service). Some existing tests have been updated or removed, such as the Herpes Simplex Virus RT-PCR, and the Influenza assays have been replaced with those capable of detecting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. These changes will impact several public health areas, including environmental health, clinical diagnostics, and emergency preparedness, generating new revenue streams across various laboratory services.
The overall increase in revenue for FY 2025-2026 Public Health Laboratory services is estimated at $36,720.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
On August 12, the Board adopted Resolutions No. 25-0385 introducing, reading the title of and waiving the reading of two ordinances titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, adopting new fees and adjusting fees effective October 1, 2025, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services” and Resolution No. 25-0387 introducing, reading the title of and waiving the reading of two ordinances titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, adopting new fees and adjusting fees effective October 1, 2025, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory.”
On May 14, 2024, the Board adopted an Ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective July 1, 2024, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services.”
On March 26, 2024, the Board adopted a resolution reading the title and waiving further reading of a proposed ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective July 1, 2024, for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Sonoma County Animal Services” and adopted a resolution establishing new and amended fees to recover the reasonable cost of providing services associated with Environmental Health and Safety for the Department of Health Services, pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 101325, effective July 1, 2024.
On April 19, 2022, the Board adopted an ordinance titled “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, State of California, Adopting New Fees and Adjusting Fees Effective July 1, 2022 for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services Public Health Laboratory and Animal Services.”
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
$49,751 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The fee adjustments included in this item are estimated to net to $49,751 in additional revenue. This is comprised of $13,031 in increased revenues for Animal Services and $36,720 in additional revenues for the Public Health Laboratory. Total forecasted revenues for Sonoma County Animal Services is $639,515, and for the Public Health Laboratory is $345,894, yielding a total of $985,409 in revenues from fees.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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|
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Sonoma County Animal Services
Attachment 1 - Animal Services Ordinance
Attachment 2 - Animal Services Post-Adoption Summary
Public Health Laboratory
Attachment 3 - Public Health Laboratory Ordinance
Attachment 4 - Public Health Laboratory Post-Adoption Summary
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A