Health Department pressed on inspections By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle A lingering piece of Green Bay's Phat Dogs saga was taken up by the Brown County Human Services Committee on Thursday as representatives from the county's Health Department were asked about inspection procedures. During discussions over licensing vending carts in Green Bay, Sups. Guy Zima and Andy Nicholson joined the department in an inspection of two hot dog vendors. One passed, but the other had major violations, Zima said. "It was shockingly dirty," he said. At least one cart had to be taken out of service and screen doors were missing, allowing flies into the storage building. "There were cutting boards that were just black," Nicholson said. Zima expressed concern that county inspectors were not dealing with businesses open mostly at night, but department director Judy Friedrichs said many inspectors voluntarily worked later hours to deal with those businesses. She said the department spends $7,500 on overtime to do so. "We don't want them there at non-busy times," she said. "We want them to see the whole of the operation." But when Nicholson asked if it might not be better to have at least one inspector with set hours later in the day, she said that there would not be enough for that person to do compared to what could be done earlier in the day. "It's a poor use of their time," she said. She said the department can issue citations but also prefers an educational approach. "We want to encourage them to call us if they have a question," she said. And, she added, there were worse punishments than citations. "We've made restaurants shut down for the day for a thorough cleaning. When they have to close and lose business, that teaches them the value of what to do," she said. Current staffing is up to state standards, she added. In the last five years, the department has issued four citations, compared to seven to nine for Dane County and eight to 10 for Eau Claire County and the city of Eau Claire. "This is an educated guess, but I don't think there's a deterrent out there," Zima said. - The committee also heard from several supporters of programs that could face cuts in the 2004 county budget, although there was nothing on the agenda regarding the budget. Sup. Steve Fewell allowed the supporters to speak during the public comment section of the agenda, but reminded them the committee did not know yet what cuts would be made. County Executive Carol Kelso will release the budget Oct. 15, with hearings by county committees and an all-day board budget hearing to follow over the next few weeks.