The Fishers Health Department Board voted Thursday to recommend a shift to a risk-based fee model for restaurant permits, to separate the Indiana coroner continuing-education surcharge from the death-certificate fee, and to raise several permit and reinspection penalties before forwarding the proposals to Fishers City Council.

The board approved a motion to adopt the risk-based permitting framework, which aligns permit levels with the FDA Food Code risk categories and ties inspection cadence to those levels. Monica, a department staff member who presented the proposals, said the model ‘‘correlates with how much work we put in and how much oversight we have to have and how much risk it carries to the public.’’

Under the recommended model, most Fishers restaurants would move to lower risk levels if they sustain an A-grade history; new or lower-performing operations would be placed at higher risk levels and face higher permit fees. Monica showed example scenarios in which a well-performing, 31-employee restaurant could see permit fees fall under the new structure, while a new or poorly performing small operation could face higher fees.

The board also voted to separate the coroner continuing-education fee from the municipal death-certificate charge so the surcharge can automatically follow the graded amounts set in Indiana code (currently $2.50 rising in later years). Monica said the change is intended to increase transparency for customers and to avoid having to manually revisit the local fee schedule each time the state code adjusts the surcharge.

Board members also approved proposed increases for other food-permit types (grocery/retail food permits, temporary permits and plan-review fees) and a reinspection/fine structure. The reinspection proposal establishes a $100 base reinspection fee and an additional escalation of $50 for each increment of five priority violations that require reinspection, the board decided after lengthy discussion about staff time and enforcement incentives.

Several members urged caution about the scale of fee increases. ‘‘If we don’t charge those fees, we’re not gonna get closer to sustainability,’’ one board member said, while others urged that the proposal be softened or phased in to ease impacts on small operators. The board agreed to recommend the risk-based transition to City Council immediately and to present the proposed fee levels for council consideration, with the expectation council may adjust the numbers during its two-reading process.

Monica said the department plans a webinar for operators between the two council readings to explain the system and incorporate feedback. The department noted that state legislation will centralize food-truck permitting in 2027; Fishers staff said that change is still being defined and may affect local food-truck permit authority.

The board’s actions are advisory; final adoption of municipal fees and ordinance language will be made by Fishers City Council.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to separate coroner continuing-education fee from the death-certificate fee and move forward with the fee-schedule change: approved (ayes).
- Motion to adopt a risk-based permitting model aligned with FDA Food Code benchmarks and submit recommended fees to City Council: approved (ayes).
- Motion to increase other food-permit fee types and plan-review distinctions: approved (ayes).
- Motion to set reinspection base fee at $100 with an added $50 for each additional five priority violations requiring reinspection: approved (ayes).

The department will transmit the board’s recommendations to City Council for two readings and said permit renewals opening December 1 motivated the expedited calendar. The board and staff discussed offering operators a phased or partial implementation if council and the public raise concerns.

Ending note: The department emphasized the policy’s intent is public-safety protection and sustainability of inspection services, not to penalize compliant operators; staff said high-performing businesses can see fee reductions under the new risk-based incentives.