Changes are coming to Weights and Measures in Genesee County.
Starting Monday, Weights and Measures will no longer be a stand-alone department of county government. There will be a single employee reporting to an environmental health supervisor in the Health Department.
Also, once approved by the Legislature, Genesee County will start charging fees for Weights and Measures services.
Paul Pettit, director of the Health Department, said Genesee County appears to be the only county that hasn't been charging for the service.
The new fee schedule will bring in about $25,000 annually.
"The fees do not fully compensate the full cost of the program," Pettit said. "It's a revenue offset."
Article 16 of the Ag and Markets Law requires counties to have a director of Weights and Measures. The new inspector will have the title of director but not the duties of a department head. The Health Department will handle budgeting and administrative work for the inspector.
The county is responsible for inspecting weight and measurement devices throughout the county, such as gas pumps and meat counter scales and similar devices where fees are charged based on weight or volume, except on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, where there are no government inspection services.
