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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/20/2015 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD TUESDAY JANUARY 20, 2014 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Animal Control Program Discussion. Mike Harman, Services Bureau Manager, presented the staff report on this item. Mr. Harman said he was here to discuss the Animal Control program and seek direction on whether or not to prepare a draft ordinance requiring veterinarians to report vaccinations to the Police Department Animal Control program to ensure vaccinated dogs are also licensed. The City has a code requiring that dogs be licensed by their owners. Approximately 60-70% of the animals the Animal Control officer encounters in the street do not have a license for a variety of reasons. Licensed dogs are often returned home before the owner realizes they are missing, and the City saves money by avoiding the cost of sheltering a found animal at Greenhill. One of the ongoing challenges in implementing the licensing code is informing dog owners of the requirement and enforcing compliance. Every couple of years, the Police Department evaluates the programs to see how well they are working and the cost benefit to the City. The Animal Control program is a good program and is on solid footing. They received positive reviews in how they handle most lost -dog calls. The current Animal Control officer, Brian Austin, has been with the department since 2010 and has done a good job with social media and increasing the number of dogs returned. He feels it would be much easier if the dogs have a license. Lane County has had such an ordinance in place since 2003, and the City of Eugene also has a similar ordinance. County staff report that the number of dogs with County licenses has more than doubled since implementation of their ordinance. Veterinarians, while expected to be initially opposed to the program, potentially benefit from this ordinance because their customers receive a reminder from the Vet to update their pet's vaccination and also a renewal notice from the City for the license which requires the vaccination. The Police Department Animal Control Program is ranked as a `Quartile 3' Program in the Priority Based Budget model. The current program costs approximately $130,000 per year to operate and has historically generated approximately $30,000 in revenue. A recent increase in basic license fees, more closely matching regional partners, is on track to increase revenues this year to about $54,000. Program revenues would more closely match expenditures if a higher percentage of residents were complying with the existing city code requiring the license. Councilor Woodrow asked if the City had polled the Springfield veterinarians to see how they feel. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 20, 2015 Page 2 Mr. Harman said they have not Councilor Woodrow said she had seen a news report that quoted a Springfield veterinarian who had a concern regarding privacy. She noted that vets use software that itemizes each cost and she is concerned they may charge for that service as it may involve staff time. She asked how it would be enforced. There could be people that don't come in to get their vaccinations and exams in order to avoid being reported. The original purpose for licensing in order to locate pet's homes is not as important because of microchips. She would rather have a program where we campaign the positives of licensing your pet rather than punitive. She would like to see them capitalize on the good -will the animal control program already has with the current animal control officer. She is comfortable not having the animal control position not being fully self -funding and would be willing to continue to find funding for that position. Councilor Pishioneri said they had a similar conversation years ago. The animal program is on good footing, so he doesn't see a problem. The public will see this negatively and a financially driven step by the government. He is uncomfortable involving private businesses (veterinarians) to partake in enforcement steps. Councilor Wylie said she agrees, and doesn't like mandatory reporting to get funding. She wondered about the issue of people not getting their dog vaccinated so they aren't reported. She would be interested to hear about Eugene's experience. Mr. Harman said it is hard to say if people aren't getting their dog vaccinated. The fine for not getting licensed is $110. Once Animal Control deals with an animal at -large or a barking dog, they enforce any other violations and licensing if needed. Councilor Wylie asked if they had talked to Eugene about the effect of the ordinance. Mr. Harman said the County said it was not difficult for the veterinarians. He described the process once the County staff gets the list from the veterinarians. Councilor Wylie said having more dogs licensed, knowing who has had their rabies shot, and making the community safer might be a way to put away any feelings of negativity towards reporting. She felt they should weigh the good in the community with the reporting by the veterinarians. Councilor Ralston said he was uncomfortable having that information being turned over and saw no clear benefit. We don't have a rabies problem in our community. If a person doesn't want to license their dog, he doesn't want to make them. Councilor VanGordon said he is also uncomfortable with mandatory reporting. We would need to have a pretty high bar if expecting the vets to do something, such as an outbreak of disease. There is a strong argument to increase dog licensing in the community, and he feels the Animal Control program is critical. He would be open to other programs and ideas that might help drive an increase in the amount of dog licenses in the community, such as online licensing. The reporting is not the right solution, but there are things that could be done to improve services and cut costs to make it more sustainable. He would encourage that conversation. He doesn't want to trade the good will the Animal Control officer has built for additional funds. Councilor Pishioneri said he is not seeing a need for this with a major issue. The County program involved going out and actively enforcing, and going home to home. He asked if Eugene and Lane County could show a drop in rabies or bites since they have implemented the program. If there is not a major need, he feels they should focus their time on issues that have to be addressed and will show City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 20, 2015 Page 3 some good. He agrees that making things more efficient is great and they should move in that direction. Councilor Moore said it is part of the City Code to be licensed, yet we are not enforcing the Code. She asked if instead of asking veterinarians to report vaccinations, they could ask them to handle licensing. She agrees they should look at other approaches to encourage licensing and try to create a level playing field for those that are getting their dog licensed. Maybe they could find another way to track dogs rather than licensing. Councilor Woodrow said if they look at enforcing, it will involve more staff time and resources. They are already taking money out for Animal Control so funding for enforcement would be hard to find. Licensing dogs at the veterinarian may bring up the same concerns regarding privacy because they would need to turn that over to the City. Mr. Harman said during the last 5-6 years, the City has offered to partner with the veterinarians to license pets at the clinics. A couple of veterinarians do that, but smaller offices felt it was too much to train their staff and have chosen to opt out. They regularly put information about licensing on the FaceBook page, the Animal Control officer goes to the National Night Out event, the Justice Center Open Houses, and other community events to promote licensing, which has helped slightly. Councilor Ralston said he is not sure why people don't want to license their pet. He asked what it cost. Mr. Harman said to license a spayed or neutered dog for one year, it cost $15. They can be put on the same cycle as their rabies shots every three years with a discount. This is an annual fee and there is a reduced rate for seniors. Councilor Ralston said every puppy gets vaccinated so that does make sense for people to license their dog at that time. Otherwise leave it alone. Mr. Harman said the rabies vaccination is every three years and could coincide with licensing Councilor VanGordon said the value in licensing pets of getting pets returned in an older view and has changed with microchips and social media. It might be worthwhile to have a discussion about the current value of licensing. He suggests expanding the definitions of the pros of licensing. He asked if people got a ticket or a warning if Animal Control comes out on a call and the animal id not licensed. Mr. Harman said the owner gets a warning with 30 days to get their dog licensed. If they don't license the dog within 30 days, Animal Control will follow up. Councilor VanGordon asked how many times Animal Control made contact last year. It was about 600 times. With the rate of dogs unlicensed, those calls will naturally bring an increase in licensing. Mr. Harman said under the current system, it could take about 10-15 years, and with a reporting program it could take about 3 years. Councilor Moore asked if there was a requirement at the Humane Society that dogs that get vaccinated are reported to the city. Mr. Harman said not in Springfield, but if part of the adoption from the Humane Society included a vaccination, it would be reported to the City of Eugene or Lane County. Councilor Moore asked if they could include reporting from the Humane Society in our Code. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 20, 2015 Page 4 Councilor Ralston said it is difficult to enforce Councilor Pishioneri said like other City codes, we enforce these as we get complaints. Everyone knows they need to license their dog. He feels those cited should get fined rather than just getting a warning because people should know. Councilor Wylie said she prefers the warning. If Animal Control is underfunded, we may regret if we have to discontinue the program. Sometimes the City needs to do things that are unpleasant to fund the services needed. Mr. Harman said the program was currently funded, and he is not recommending doing away with program. It does draw some of its funding from the General Fund. Mayor Lundberg said there is a general sense that we don't want to force reporting and compliance, although it wouldn't be a hardship for many veterinarians that are already reporting for Eugene and Lane County. We need to find the incentive for having a license, rather than it feeling invasive and mandatory. They could look at ways to allow people to voluntarily contribute, which might be a way veterinarians want to participate. Some people aren't aware that once they get the rabies tag, they also need a license, so educating the public is important. She feels Animal Control is of significant importance to the community so they need to come up with other ideas. Maybe part of the licensing fee could go towards scholarships. Councilor Pishioneri said perhaps the City should enact code requiring each veterinary office to put up a poster of requirements of being a dog owner. Mr. Grimaldi said there were requests for information from the City of Eugene and Lane County. Since they Council is not pursuing such an ordinance, they will not gather that information. Discussion was held regarding whether or not they need to implement a code for the posters. Council determined that Code is not required, but putting up a poster would be encouraged. Mr. Harman said staff would work with veterinarians. They had always been very cooperative. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:42 p.m. Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: Amy Som City Recorder