Later this month, after the full year financial statements are available, I will put out a “State of the City” message. But I wanted to get this out now since it will impact how we proceed in 2024 with an animal control ordinance. Animal control, or more specifically dog control, was something that a lot of people thought should have a high priority for the city when we incorporated. We continue to get a lot of calls about dogs roaming freely, sometimes alone and sometimes in small groups. Although there have been no reports of injury to people, these dogs many times pose a threat to other pets and can be a general nuisance doing their business in other people’s yards. We have a couple of options as far as kenneling strays while we locate the owner or get the stray animals adopted. However, we will need to have someone to respond to calls and collect the animals.
The city intends to purchase a vehicle that would be used for code enforcement including animal control, so the animal control officer would not have to use their own vehicle. I don’t expect our animal control officer to patrol but rather just respond to calls. And assistance would be provided if any situation would have the potential to be dangerous. The general scope of the job would be:
· Respond to calls for animals roaming and/or creating a nuisance
· Capture the animals and attempt to identify the owner
· Return the animal to the owner if known or deliver the animal to a designated shelter
· Issue notifications for violations of city ordinances as appropriate
· Issue citations to appear in court for flagrant and/or repeat offenders
· Keep accurate records of all violations
This would be a part time hourly position. The city will officially post to fill the position once the ordinance has passed. However, in the meantime, I would like to hear from anyone that thinks they may be interested in being the animal control officer. Since it does no good for the city to pass an ordinance that they are not in a position to enforce, having some indication that we can fill the position is key to moving forward. You can email me at mayor@cityofholidayisland.com or call me at 479-379-8041.
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