ILL GOTTEN GAINS

DOG LAW OF 1919 (EXCERPT)
Act 339 of 1919

287.266 Dog licenses; application; resolution; provisions; proof of vaccination.

Sec. 6.…edit………

(5) ….edit…… The county board of commissioners may set license fees in the county budget at a level sufficient to pay all the county's expenses of administering this act as it pertains to dogs.

For a spayed or neutered dog, the license fee, if any, shall be set lower than the license fee for a dog that is not spayed or neutered.

In addition, the license fee may be set higher for a delinquent application than for a timely application.

It is the law.  The commissioners may set the fee.  It doesn’t say anything about the county administrator setting the fee, or the sheriff, or anyone else.  Another argument for the commissioners to do their own job and not be led around by the nose.

In 2004 when the commissioners voted to increase the dog license fees the intent was to raise additional funds to improve the shelter facility.  Even the the chairman of the board assured everyone that they were “morally bound” to put that money back into animal control, it never was.

In 2004 a license fee for a spayed or neutered dog was $5.00.  That was doubled to $10.

The license fee for an intact dog was $10.  That was tripled to $30.  I think it is reasonable to say that 50% of the license fees collected after that are owed to the animal control facility.  It would even be reasonable to claim as much as 65%?  With that triple factor in there.  But lets just settle on 50%.  That figure is mind-boggling enough.

ACTUAL	ACTUAL		ACTUAL	ACTUAL	ACTUAL	ACTUAL	ACTUAL	ACTUAL	ACTUAL
2005	2006		2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
$   144,021	$   139,158		$   138,313	$   136,322	$   138,270	$   133,622	$   121,822	$   119,528	$   115,399
Total since
raising
$1,186,455

50%

$593,227.50

Now isn’t that a nice little chunk of change that just flat out disappeared into the General Fund?

  Our “shelter” dogs should be living in a palace!  2014 isn’t complete, but they have collected over $90,000 so far ( April 30, 2014) and the proposed budget for 2015 is for $110,000 in dog license fees.  It is going down, as is our population.  Check out the sheriff’s Donut Fund. 

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