Department of Agriculture Office of the Director 635 Capitol Street NE Salem, OR 97301-2532 (503) 986-4552 FAX: (503) 986-4750 John A. Kitzhaber, MD, Governor Februaly 26, 20 i 4 The Honorable Senator Richard Devlin, Co?Chair The Honorable Representative Peter Buckley, Co-Chair Joint Committee on Ways and Means 900 Court Street NE State Capitol Salem, OR 97301-4048 Dear Co-Chaiipersons: Nature of the Request The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is requesting an increase in Other Funds limitation and additional staff in the ODA Food Safety Program. Agency Action and Background One of the missions of ODA is to ensure food safety and provide consumer protection. The 35 food safety inspectors have the responsibility to license and inspect over 12,000 food establishments. Some licensed establishments require multiple inspections per year. Current licensed food establishments exceed the capacity of the food safety inspectors to complete inspections on a regular basis. On average an inspector will visit 340 establishments annually. In 2013 there were 12, i 86 total inspections scheduled at the lowest frequency possible with 8,300 inspections completed. The ODA closely monitors the workload of the program and prioritizes food safety inspections based on risk to the safety of Oregonians. In consultation with program stakeholders, a request to add the positions should occur sooner than the 2015/17?budget period to avoid further lapses in inspections. The Northwest Grocery Association agreed to sponsor the request during the February session and has worked with ODA on this request. The Food Safety program has suf?cient cash balances and fee revenue to support this request for the remainder of the 2013?15 biennia. Should license fees need to be adjusted during the 2015?2017 biennia the statute allows ODA to increase license fees by no more than three percent annually. Action Requested The ODA respectfully requests that the Joint Ways and Means committee recommend that the legislature approve the addition of three permanent positions (1.75 FTE) and increase the Other Funds limitation in the Food Safety program by $430,590. Legislation Affected Oregon Law 2013, Chapter 540, Section 2, Subsection (2) Sincerely, Katy 0 a Director