GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The Kent County Health Department has launched a new online portal to make it easier for the public to find and view inspection reports.
“Before the portal was created, the public had to submit a Freedom of Information Request, a FOIA request, to get this information. Then we had to pull the report on our end and send it to them. It takes the middleman out of it and allows them to go out there and look at it themselves,” said Rusty Flewelling, hygiene manager for the Kent County Health Department.
THE portal shows routine and follow-up inspections. Documents are added to the portal after being uploaded by the inspector to the health department database.
“What we really want to do is make it easier for the public, increase transparency and make it easier for people to find out how to find this information. You could go out to dinner tonight and say, ‘Hey, this is a new restaurant. I’d really like to see that inspection report.’ Rather than filing a FOIA request and having to wait a day or two to get it, you can find it almost instantly at this point,” he said.
To find reports, users can search for specific locations by entering the name, address, or municipality. There is also a card function which allows users to find the location they want.
As the portal rollout continues, the Health Department has started with restaurants, tattoo parlors and public pools. Flewelling said he plans to expand the database to include well and septic permits and applications as well as annual power applications.
“There are a lot of properties in the portal. Some of them don’t have any information. That means, unfortunately, due to software limitations, we can’t filter them out. These could be brand new properties that are still under review and haven’t opened yet. These could be properties that have been applied for and have never opened,” Flewelling said.
If you don’t know what you’re seeing in the report, there is a Frequently Asked Questions section that details what you need to know. You can also find information on how inspections are conducted.
