Maryland councilman Brandon M. Scott has been trying to get a food service inspection grade bill passed for two years now. He says a public ratings system, which many cities have, would improve transparency, keep residents better informed of health code violations, and keep restaurants on their toes.

New York City uses a letter grades system where restaurants post their grades in the restaurant windows.

Currently, Scott says, if a Baltimore restaurant or food facility has a bad health department inspection report, it is closed by the agency, but it doesn’t have to tell the public (or post a sign) why.

“The business could say they closed for repairs,” he says. “Consumers should know if a restaurant was closed for egregious violations.”

The Baltimore Health Department does post closure violations – online, but only once a month (which is all the law requires) and typically long after a facility has reopened.

Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young  and members Eric Costello, Bill Henry, Rochelle “Rikki” Spector, Carl Stokes and Scott attended the work session, which was chaired by Councilman Robert Curran.

Spector said she didn’t understand why Scott would compare Baltimore to larger American cities like Chicago and New York, which both post health department inspection ratings.

“Maryland jurisdictions are not doing this. Are we making things difficult for people who live and work in Baltimore City,” she asked, implying that the postings would be a burden on restaurants.

Curran, however, seemed to favor a public posting of inspection grades.

He said the health department’s monthly online posting only served computer users and the “technologically advanced.”