08/25/1975 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilwoman Beal wondered if there would be one single place to which the en- forcement agency would report; she assumed the county would be the enforcement agency. Commissioner Hayward was interested in learning more about contracting e the services with a private concern. Mr. Martin said it could be Eugene, Spring- field, or preferably Lane County. He said it was a key issue and since there had been some indication that Springfield might not want a single-agency enforce- ment program he thought it would be helpful to know whether Springfield council members present accepted that process or at least could express what reservations they had. Councilman Adams expressed Springfield Mayor Vance Freeman's concern about in- cluding cats in any program set up. Councilman Meyer said he was not aware of any indication that Springfield would not go along with a single-agency enforce- ment concept. Councilman Eates said he had some reservations because of exper- ience with the current program. He said there was no control or supervision at the present time, no way to gain adequate pickup services, so that a good share of Springfield was not covered at all. He said that if the proposed program would be directed toward putting services into the areas where they were needed, that agency for the most part would be satisfied. There was general consensus that enforcement function would be performed by one of the three agencies for all three. 3. Should a staff level tri-agency advisory group be established. There were no objections. 4. Should a neutering/spaying program be established? e Councilman Bates asked whether there was possibility of including the cost of rabies vaccination in the license fee. Mr. Martin thought to include that cost would require an even higher 'license fee than that proposed. AlSO, at this point only veterinarians can give the rabies vaccinations so some program would have to be worked out with them. An unidentified veterinarian quoted $6.00 to $11.00 for vaccinations, $6.00 to $7.00 if given in rabies clinics. There were no objections to establishing the proposed neutering/ spaying program. 5. Should the comprehensive licensing program presented be adopted including the increased license fee? There were no objectio~s. 6. Should the dog control program be self-supporting or subsidized by general funds? Councilman Hamel suggested the program be set up at least for the first couple of years so that any defici t would be taken care of at the, e~d of each ye~r ~ , Mayor Anderson assumed that as the objective, perhaps requ~r~ng some subs~d~zat~on. Commissioner Hayward thought the philosophical question involved was that for the most part the unlicensed dogs were causing problems for which revenues from licensed dogs were paying. Mr. Martin commented that given the "go ahead" with an aggressive program, it was expected that 32,000 dogs would be l~censed. Changing the enforcement practice and disposing of dogs after 48 ,hours ~f un- licensed would probably encourage licensing of more dogs. Counc~lman Meyer e didn't think all the problems were caused by unlicensed dogs. Many dogs on leashes accompanied by their owners created as many problems, he said. On a show of hands, the majority of officials present favored making the dog control program self-supporting. 4e,1 8/25/75 - 17