By WKTV Staff
Kent County announced Wednesday, March 9, that the county Board of Commissioners had voted unanimously to approve a one-time waiver of 2022-2023 food licensing fees for all existing food establishments in the county.
The approximate $1.2 million funding to offset the loss of the fees comes from the county’s portion of the American Rescue Plan Act, according to the announcement. In late 2021, Kent County was awarded more than $127 million to support the continued response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We understand that restaurants are a major driver of our economy, and many establishments are still struggling to recover from the economic setbacks caused by the pandemic,” Kent County Board of Commissioners chair Stan Stek said in supplied material. “We trust this fee waiver will provide much-needed support to keep these businesses going and ensure that they can continue to serve our community.”
All 2,372 food service establishments in the county are licensed by the Kent County Health Department and license fees are based on the classification and type of operation.
“The restaurant business has always presented challenges and the pandemic made everything even harder,” Abby McClure, general manager at Walker Roadhouse, in Walker, said in supplied material. “We are grateful that our Kent County Commissioners voted to use these funds to help alleviate some of the pandemic related challenges we are still facing.”
Restaurants are required to submit a renewal application by April 30, 2022, which will ensure establishments remain licensed during the 2022-2023 operating period, according to the announcement. If an establishment does not intend to renew its license, the application still must be returned but include a signed note requesting its license be cancelled.
Annual renewal applications will be mailed to food service establishments by March 11, 2022.
