(2) DEPARTMENT ACTION ON PROPOSED PLAN. The department shall review the proposed agent program plan and accept or deny the application, under sub. (1), within 60 days after the department receives it.
ATCP 74.06 Terms of the Contract. (1) If the department accepts the proposal from the local health department, the department shall prepare a contract to be signed by both parties. Signing the contract indicates the agent’s agreement to comply with this chapter and chs. ATCP 72, 73, 75, 75 Appendix, 76, 78, and 79, and that all the conditions in the accepted application have been met, including adoption of ordinances that adopt the department’s rules by reference, or are at least as stringent and do not conflict with the department’s rules. (2) The contract shall be in effect for three fiscal years unless otherwise specified, and shall remain in effect unless specifically terminated, revoked, or suspended, as provided in the contract. The department shall issue contracts, for future contract periods, to the agent by January 1 of the last year of the current contract. The agent shall commit to continue as the department’s agent for the future contract period, by signing and returning the contract by March 1 of the last year of the current contract.
(3) Either party may be terminate the contract by providing written notice of termination to the other party at least 90 days before the termination is to take effect.
(4) When the contract is signed by both parties, the local health department shall assume authority and the responsibility to enforce the provisions of s. 97.30, 97.625, and 97.71, Stats., and chs. ATCP 72, 73, 74, 75, 75 Appendix, 76, 78, and 79. The agent program shall also issue licenses and perform all inspections necessary to enforce these statutes and rules. (5) Upon execution of the contract, the department shall discontinue all licensing and enforcement activities, pursuant to s. 97.30, and 97.65, Stats., in the agent’s jurisdiction for the period of time the contract is in effect, except as provided in s. ATCP 75.09 (2). (6) Notwithstanding subs. (4) and (5), the department may act under s. 97.615 (h), Stats., to take either appropriate inspection or enforcement action, or both, if the department has determined that the agent program has not acted expeditiously or appropriately to take such action. ATCP 74.08 Staffing. (1) The agent program shall employ enough people to implement the program according to the terms of the agent program’s contract with the department.
(2) The agent program shall employ at least one registered sanitarian to conduct inspections and supervise any inspectors who are not registered sanitarians. After July 1, 2017, the agent shall only hire inspectors who are sanitarians or shall become registered sanitarians within five (5) years. After July 1, 2017, existing staff who conduct inspections, and are not eligible to become sanitarians within five (5) years, shall be under the supervision of a registered sanitarian and shall be deemed competent to perform inspections by passing standardization exercises.
(3) If the agent loses its only registered sanitarian, the agent shall hire a registered sanitarian replacement within 120 days; or upon the agent's written request, the department may allow the agent additional time to hire a qualified replacement. A replacement who is not a registered sanitarian may be hired, if approved by the department, and if the agent has a signed agreement with another agent for a registered sanitarian to provide supervisory oversight. The replacement hire shall become a registered sanitarian within six months of being hired. A copy of the oversight contract shall be provided to the department and shall include the amount of time allotted for oversight activities and what specific duties the supervising registered sanitarian will provide.
(4) The agent shall designate sanitarians or registered sanitarians, as required by the department, to undergo the standardization exercise evaluating enforcement of ATCP 75 and its Appendix. After successfully completing the exercises, the staff person shall be designated as the agent standard.
(5) The agent standard shall perform department-required exercises with the department to maintain their status as the agent standard.
(6) The agent standard shall perform standardization and maintenance exercises with other environmental health inspection personnel in their jurisdiction, using procedures specified by the department.
(7) The agent is required to send at least one sanitarian or registered sanitarian to attend training provided by the department.
(8) An employee of the agent shall participate on department rule making and policy advisory committees when requested.
(9) The agent shall not permit an employee to conduct an inspection in a situation in which the employee, a member of his or her family, or an organization, with which the employee is associated, has a financial interest or where the employee’s relationship, with any person at the inspected facility, could cause the employee not to be able to conduct an objective, unbiased inspection.
(10) The agent program is solely responsible for all employment-related issues, involving the persons it employs in the program, and for the actions or omissions of the agent program’s employees, except as otherwise provided by law.
(11) Upon the agent’s request, the department will provide technical assistance and training to staff.
ATCP 74.10 Inspections. (1) Agent program sanitarians shall inspect all establishments covered in the agent contract for compliance with Wis. Stat. § 97.30 and Subchs. III and IV of ch. 97, Wis. Admin. Code chs. ATCP 72, 73, 75 and Appendix, 76, 78 and 79. (2) The agent program shall follow standard inspection methods and procedures prescribed by the department.
(3) Each fiscal year the agent shall conduct one routine inspection of each license holder’s establishments, under its jurisdiction, except for vending machines. The agent may propose a different inspection frequency to the department which may only be implemented if approved by the department, in writing.
(4) The agent program shall collect food and water samples as necessary or as requested by the department.
(5) Before issuing a new license, the agent program inspector shall perform a pre-licensing inspection of the license applicant’s establishment for compliance with all applicable ordinances, rules, and statutes. The pre-licensing inspection shall be conducted before the operator is issued a license and conducts business.
(6) The department may conduct inspections in an establishment in an agent program’s jurisdiction:
(a) For training or standardization of department staff or for staff of an agent program.
(b) In response to an emergency.
(c) For monitoring and evaluating the agent program’s licensing, inspection, and enforcement program.
(d) At the request of the agent program.
(7) Whenever possible, the department shall notify the agent program of the department’s intent to inspect an establishment in the agent program’s jurisdiction.
ATCP 74.12 Complaint Investigations. (1) Except as provided in s. ATCP 75.02, an agent program shall investigate every complaint that it receives against any licensee under its jurisdiction. The agent shall prioritize and investigate complaints according to the procedures in this section and procedures adopted by the agent program under the contract with the department. The complaints shall be addressed in order of priority as follows: (a) An allegation indicating a serious or imminent public health hazard is associated with a licensee or establishment under the agent program’s jurisdiction.
(b) An allegation indicating a potential public health problem, that is neither a serious or imminent public health hazard, is associated with a licensee or establishment under the agent program’s jurisdiction.
(c) An allegation of a violation, not indicating a public health hazard, associated with a licensee or establishment under the agent program’s jurisdiction.
(2) Agent programs shall notify and consult with the department and other affected agencies having jurisdiction, as necessary, about complaints or foodborne or waterborne illnesses that may be of significant concern to those agencies. An agent program shall coordinate complaint investigations, as necessary, with other agencies having jurisdiction.
ATCP 74.14 Evaluation and training. (1) At least once each year, the agent program shall submit a self-assessment in a format determined by the department.
(2) Once the self-assessment is submitted, the department shall evaluate the agent’s program, based upon a review of the following information in the self-assessment:
(a) The agent program’s compliance with the contract terms.
(b) The agent program’s progress in meeting program standards adopted by the department.
(c) The agent program’s records and reports required under s. ATCP 74.20. (3) At least once every three years, the department shall conduct an on-site evaluation of the agent’s program.
(4) The department shall provide the agent program with the department’s written findings, based on the review of the self-assessment or the on-site evaluation. The department may, as deemed necessary, increase the evaluation frequency.
(5) In response to the department’s written findings, the agent shall submit to the department any required corrective action plan, detailing how the agent will meet contract requirements.
(6) The department, after receiving the corrective action plan, shall review it, make additional comments, and approve the corrective action plan when it is deemed acceptable by the department.
(7) If the agent fails to meet the conditions specified in the corrective action plan, the department shall:
(a) Notify the agent, in writing, of the deficiencies in meeting the corrective action plan, and place the agent contract in a conditional status, with a deadline set for the agent to meet the corrective action plan conditions.
(b) If deficiencies are corrected within the conditional time period, the contract is returned to active status.
(c) If deficiencies remain uncorrected after a conditional deadline has passed, the department shall notify the agent of its intent to terminate the contract and revoke agent status as provided under ATCP 74.26.
(8) Notwithstanding these provisions, the department may exercise its right to immediately suspend an agent program’s contract, under s. ATCP 74.26(3), to protect public health or safety. ATCP 74.16 Enforcement and Sampling. (1) The agent program shall take necessary actions to enforce the provisions of s. 97.30 and Subchs. III and IV of ch. 97, Stats., related administrative rules in chs. ATCP 70, 72, 73, 75, 75 Appendix, 76, 78, and 79, and any local ordinances or regulations adopted under ss. 97.41 (7) and 97.615 (2) (g), Stats., for facilities for which the agent program has been delegated authority under the contract between the department and the agent program. (2) Enforcement actions may include license revocation, license suspension, fines or civil forfeitures, orders to close, temporary or final hold orders on equipment, food, processes or facilities, and the placement of conditions on licenses.
(3) The agent program shall promulgate or adopt an enforcement policy that is distributed to its inspection staff, and shall make it available to the department during evaluations and at other times if it is substantively changed or upon request.
(4) The agent program shall notify the department in writing within ten (10) days after taking any enforcement action against a facility involving license suspension, license revocation, or court or administrative actions.
(5) The agent program shall be responsible for costs incurred in enforcement actions taken in the local agent program’s jurisdiction.
(6) The agent program shall take samples requested by the department.
(7) The agent program may conduct any requested sample analyses in a laboratory certified by the department under ch. ATCP 77 for those analyses. All costs associated with collecting and testing these samples shall be assumed by the agent program. (8) The agent program shall share laboratory results with the department.
(9) Those agent programs that do not have the laboratory capability to perform required analyses or that do not choose to perform those analyses shall submit those samples to the department’s bureau of laboratory services for analysis.
(a) The agent program shall assume the cost of collecting samples and shipping them to the department’s laboratory.
(b) The department shall assume the cost of the laboratory analysis of those samples.
(10) If the department has notified an agent program of deficiencies by any licensee to comply with the enforcement provisions of this chapter or any other rules or statutes applicable under the contract, and that program does not act expeditiously or take effective action with the licensee, the department may act under ss. 97.12, and 97.65, Stats., to enforce compliance with this chapter. (11) The agent, if requested by the department, shall conduct effectiveness checks after product recalls or other situations in which a license-holder must remove food from sale or service.
ATCP 74.18 Reimbursement and other payments for services. (1) Unless otherwise specified in the contract, a fiscal year is defined in ATCP 74.01(6).
(2) By September 30 of each year, the department shall reimburse agent programs for inspecting vending machines during the previous fiscal year under terms and conditions specified in the contract. The department shall, upon written request, provide any agent with information on how to request reimbursement.
(a) Fee reimbursements for the inspection of vending machines that have moved from one agent program’s jurisdiction to another shall be credited to the agent program making the first inspection during the fiscal year.
(b) The reimbursement rate shall not exceed 20% of the state license fees the department sets by administrative rule for the types of facilities which the agent issues licenses. The calculation of the state fees is based on state license fees only, not pre-inspection and reinspection fees. The current reimbursement rate is set within these limits by the contract.
(3) By September 30 of each year, agent programs shall reimburse the department for each license issued by the agent program during the preceding fiscal year as a fee for training, support, and oversight costs.
(4) The department may increase the reimbursement rate up to a maximum rate of 20% by announcing the increase before the licensing year for which the change applies.
(5) Retail food and recreational establishment license fee reimbursement shall be:
(a) A fee equal to 10% of the applicable state license fee, regardless of the license fee actually charged by the local agent, if the local agent prepares and submits to the department, by September 30 of that year, an annual self−assessment as required by ss. 97.41 and 97.615, Stats. (b) A fee equal to 20% of the applicable state license, regardless of the license fee actually charged by the local agent, if the local agent fails to submit the annual self-assessment in par. (a). to the department, by September 30 of that year. A fee payment under this paragraph does not exempt the agent from the duty to prepare and submit an annual self−assessment.
(6) If an agent program has contracted with the department under s. 97.41, Stats., and s. ATCP 74.06, for the department to collect fees and issue licenses, the agent program shall pay the department for the actual cost of providing these services. ATCP 74.20 Reports and records. (1) An agent program shall retain complete and accurate records including, but not limited to, copies of all reports and inspections, follow-up inspections, sampling, and all orders, for at least three (3) years after completion, and longer if required by applicable statutes, rules, or local ordinances. These records shall also include accurate records of all licenses and license holders, license fee revenues, inspection charges, complaints, complaint investigations, and all program costs. These records also shall be retained for at least three years.
(2) The agent program shall accurately and completely document the cost of the agent’s program that is administered under the contract with the department. The cost may include direct costs for licensing, inspection, complaint handling and investigation, enforcement, information management, reporting, and any other activities carried out within the limits of the contract with the department. The costs may also include documented indirect costs normally associated with the program. These costs may include staff, equipment, facilities, contract service, and other documented costs allocated to the program.
(3) The agent program shall provide upon the department’s written request all information necessary to monitor the agent program’s detailed costs and revenues as specified in s. ATCP 74.20 (2), agent program performance and activities, and the status of regulated facilities. (4) The agent program shall submit to the department by the 10th of each month the following specific information:
(a) All new licensees under the contract within the preceding month.
(b) All changes in the license status of existing establishments during the previous month.
(c) All records except those specified in s. ATCP 74.16 (3), and paperwork associated with any actions taken under s. ATCP 74.16 (3), within the preceding month. (5) By September 1 of each year, the agent program shall provide the department with a complete list of the names and addresses of persons licensed by the agent program during the previous fiscal year.
(6) The license and other program-related fees collected by an agent program may not exceed the reasonable costs incurred by the agent program for enforcing and administering the provisions of the contract.
ATCP 74.22 Licensing and standards. (1) The agent program shall issue licenses in its jurisdiction, in accordance with s. 97.30 and Subchs. III and IV of ch. 97, Stats., and shall ensure that no person in its jurisdiction, subject to regulation under those statutes, operates an establishment without a valid license except: (a) Mobile retail food establishments, operating in more than one jurisdiction, shall be licensed by the department under s. 97.30 (2) (a), Stats. 1. If the mobile retail food establishment has a service base, as defined in ch. ATCP 75 Appendix Part 1-201.10 (B), located within an agent’s jurisdictional boundary, the agent shall issue the service base license. 2. The agent may charge an inspection fee for any inspection of a department-licensed mobile retail food establishment.
(b) Temporary retail food establishments that operate in more than one jurisdiction, shall be licensed by the department under s. 97.30 (2) (a), Stats. 1. The department shall provide a guidance document for the agent to use to determine which temporary retail food establishment license applies.
2. The agent may charge an inspection fee for any inspection of a department-licensed temporary retail food establishment.
(c) Any establishment that is selling, holding, or distributing food and exempt from the requirement to hold a retail food establishment license, pursuant to s. 97.30 (2) (b), Stats., are under the regulatory authority of the department and may not be licensed, charged a fee, or inspected in any manner related to food, dairy or meat processing, or wholesale or retail food operations, by the agent. (2) An annual license issued by the agent program shall include, at minimum:
