Committee OKs funding for animal control program
Published 8:58 pm Monday, March 13, 2017
Members of the Budget Committee approved funding for an animal control program for the county and a program to help find pets for veterans during their meeting Monday evening.
Elizabethton/Carter County Animal Shelter Director Shannon Posada spoke to members of the Committee regarding the abuse and neglect issues she and shelter staff are encountering.
“We have a tremendous problem with animal control in Carter County,” Posada said. “We have a tremendous drug problem in Carter County.”
When animal neglect or cruelty cases are paired with the possibility of drugs being involved, the situation can prove dangerous for shelter staff, Posada said.
“We needed a Haz Mat crew at one of these homes,” Posada said. “There are people high as kites when we go out to their homes and then we have to tell them we’re taking their animals. You can imagine how that works out.”
“It’s really an unstable environment we are going into,” she added.
Last year, Carter County 911 received approximately 1,200 calls regarding animals to which the shelter staff responded.
“That’s not including the calls we’re getting at the office about abandoned, neglected or abused animals,” she said. “We get four or five calls a day.”
Posada said she and the staff get called out at all hours to answer animal control calls. Those calls can be dangerous, and sometimes the owners of the animal are hostile, she said.
“If we had someone in a uniform that pulled up in a marked vehicle, maybe they wouldn’t give them the hassle they give us,” Posada said.
To help address the problem, Posada has worked alongside Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey and Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford to come up with a plan.
Lunceford also addressed the committee regarding the need for animal control.
“We all agree there is a need there,” Lunceford said. “The problem is how to address it.”
According to Lunceford, the root of the problem to addressing animal control in the county is funding and coverage.
“If you go hire two animal control officers you are looking at $60,000 plus start up,” Lunceford said. “And that still doesn’t give you full coverage.”
Lunceford said he and his department have looked at the issue to see if there was a more financially sound way to fund animal control without breaking the county’s coffers while still providing around the clock coverage. The Sheriff and his staff used the Circuit Court Clerk’s Offices night clerk program as a model to develop an on-call model for animal control.
“I will find one jailer on each shift and train them as an animal control officer,” Lunceford said. “They are off one week a month, and they will serve as animal control officer on an on-call basis during that week.”
“That’s the only way I can see to reasonably have 24/7 coverage,” he added.
Lunceford said the jailers are already sworn officers who have the legal authority to enforce state laws regarding animal cruelty and neglect.
The jailers who would serve as on-call animal control would receive a flat monthly stipend of $500 for their time and service. With four officers rotating the duties, that would equal out to $24,000 per year in salaries to have around the clock animal control coverage.
In addition to paying the jailers for their time, Lunceford said he would also need between $20,000 and $25,000 to purchase a truck to be used by the animal control officer.
To get the program started, Lunceford said he would need enough funding to purchase the truck and to pay salaries for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“It seems like the Sheriff has come up with the best way to do this,” Committee member Danny Ward said. “We can’t afford to hire four or five people to do this.”
Committee member Ross Garland said he had recently spoken with County Attorney Josh Hardin regarding drafting an ordinance for the county concerning such items as a leash law and other issues surrounding animals.
Committee member Ronnie Trivett made a motion to defer voting on the proposal until the Hardin could bring a prepared resolution before the committee and then the full County Commission detailing animal call violations.
Committee member Al Meehan said having an ordinance would help the animal control officers, but he would like to see the committee allocate funds so the Sheriff can begin working to get the animal control program up and running in the meantime.
Lunceford said he would like to get started as soon as possible with the program to address the need in the county.
“My opinion is with or without the ordinance you still need animal control,” Lunceford said. “The ordinance will help with enforcement.”
Trivett accepted an amendment to his motion to allocate up to $35,000 to allow the Sheriff to purchase the truck and begin training and paying the animal control officers.
The motion passed the committee unanimously.
Members of the committee also approved a request from the Veterans Buddies group to allocate funds to cover the adoption and spay/neuter fees to allow veterans to adopt pets from the shelter.
Group representative Chris Price said the underlying idea behind the program was to provide emotional support animals for veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The Veterans Buddies organization asked the county to allocate funds to cover the spay/neuter fees and estimated the cost would range from $600 to $1,100 in the first year as the group works to match vets with pets.
“I’m a veteran, and I’m for this,” Trivett said. “These veterans need dogs.”
With the fiscal year ending on June 30, the committee decided they would not need to allocate the full amount for this year.
Trivett made a motion to provide funding not to exceed $700 to the Veterans Buddies program. The Committee approved the motion unanimously.