Milwaukee's Dirty Restaurants

In the last year, 37 percent of Milwaukee restaurants were cited for at least one serious health code violation.

Unappetizing to say the least.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board calls for increased inspections, but funds aren't available.

Most people, Milwaukee Ald. Michael Murphy points out, judge restaurants by their food, service and prices and assume that government is taking care of things such as cleanliness.

Unfortunately, that assumption can be risky in light of a Journal Sentinel review of city records showing more than one-third of city restaurants were cited last year by the Milwaukee Health Department for at least one critical health code violation (www.jsonline.com/744060). That disclosure by investigative reporter Ellen Gabler should make people in City Hall and in the restaurant business realize something is very wrong and needs fixing.

Murphy, who once worked for a restaurant, realizes, as we do, that the restaurant business is very labor-intensive and that even the best-run places and their most trusted, conscientious employees can have lapses. Given that Milwaukee has 1,650 restaurants and only 16 field inspectors, we believe the Health Department is doing the best job it can.

But the "critical violations" cited by health inspectors are a serious matter. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these are the types of violations that put patrons at risk of getting sick. And since 37% of the city's restaurants were cited for such violations, more scrutiny is needed.

Milwaukee typically inspects restaurants once a year, the minimum required by the state. Federal guidelines suggest three inspections a year, and some cities try to do four. Until the early '90s, Milwaukee did two to three a year, but that's no longer possible because budget cuts have reduced the number of inspectors, officials say. With money tight, hiring more help isn't going to be easy. While also faced with budget constraints, West Allis Health Commissioner Terry Brandenburg says his department has been able to inspect about 20% of the eating places in West Allis and West Milwaukee at least twice a year by tying the number of inspections to such things as a restaurant's volume and the consequent level of public risk - a sensible approach.

The Board concludes that inspections need to be done more frequently.

Where will the money come from to fund these inspections? The Board offers no solutions.

Maybe Mayor Tom Barrett can put in place a "Clean Restaurant" fee. He could tack it on to customers' food bills.

It wouldn't be a tax. It would be a fee.

Problem solved without raising taxes.