Dog solution will take funding, Ronan officials say
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RONAN – Ronan City councilmembers and staff have been pondering a solution to the recurrent problem of dogs running amok around town, and they say fixing the problem boils down to one major barrier: money.
Councilmembers said they will likely set aside funding in the next fiscal year to get some sort of animal control program going, though finding the funding in an already cash-strapped budget might be difficult.
“Here’s the problem, if we can’t finance what we put into the dog ordinances, then they aren’t going to be effective,” City Attorney Kathleen O’Rourke Mullins said of her work on writing a new ordinance for the town. “I think we need to start with the first brick and talk about how we are going to fund it.”
Currently, dog and cat licensing funds go back into the city’s general fund, although Mayor Kim Aipperspach said he was doubtful whether setting them aside would make much of a dent in the amount needed to deal with the problem.
“It’s not a lot of money,” Aipperspach said.
City law enforcement has had a tough time finding veterinarians that will house the animals during a quarantine period. The owners are legally responsible to pay for the dog’s housing during quarantine, but oftentimes the city police department gets stuck with the bill and the animal if it costs several hundred dollars.
“If you have a dedicated fund, you can probably get someone to take them,” Aipperspach said and suggested that the issue be factored into the next budgeting cycle.
Councilmember Chris Adler said it seems that funding is the largest obstacle.
“We keep coming back to this and then we hit a brick wall when it gets to funds,” Adler said.
Councilmember Cal Hardy said he was ready to start setting some funding aside, even if it’s a small amount.
“To say we don’t have a dime in the fund isn’t working,” Hardy said.
In other business:
• The council gave no indication of whether it would write a letter of support or letter of opposition to legislators considering the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Water Compact. Realtor David Passieri gave a presentation against the agreement.
• The council tabled an open container application for the Street Dance that usually takes place in conjunction with Pioneer Days, until questions about event security could be answered.
• The council passed a first reading of two resolutions that would set the city speed limit within city limits to 25 miles per hour and would ban exhibition driving.
