County Commission revisits animal control ordinance

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — With memories of a contentious public hearing still on their minds, the Cherokee County Commission last week reopened discussions regarding the establishment of an animal control ordinance.

A 13-page ordinance that met with significant public resistance at a series of town hall-type meetings in September has since been trimmed to six pages, and Probate Judge Melvyn Salter said he suspects the document will eventually be shortened even further.

“A lot of good things came out of those public meetings,” said Salter, who also serves as chairman of the County Commission. “In essence, we've eliminated a lot of the previous ordinance in favor of going strictly by what the Code of Alabama says we have to have for animal control. We could probably get it down to one page.”

Salter said the state code lays out the requirements for an ordinance, which includes veterinary services, a shelter to house stray animals, and an animal control officer.

“We gave Sheriff Jeff Shaver permission to go ahead and begin the process of hiring an animal control officer,” he said. “He'll also be a deputy. That way we can cover a lot of bases.”

Salter explained that by deputizing the animal control officer, the county can avoid problems other counties have experienced with officials who lacked authority to enter a residence or other dwelling in order to handle a complaint.

“It's all in the pre-planning stages right now, but I think he will probably be housed in a separate location from the sheriff's department,” Salter said. “He'll need a separate phone number, too, and people will have to file an official complaint any time they call about a problem they have with an animal.”

Salter said the commission is also working to establish a relationship with a veterinarian who will provide services to the county on a contract basis.

“We've got someone who is interested, so I don't think we'll have any trouble in that regard,” he said.

He said commissioners have already visited animal shelters in other counties to take a look at how they are handling animal control.

“We're also looking for ways to develop an animal shelter,” he said. “We'll establish that in conjunction with the state code, too.”

Salter said the commissioners are looking at plans for a structure and anticipate working with the local humane society when the time comes to establish a shelter, either in an existing building somewhere in the county or at an as-yet undetermined new site.

“I haven't talked with each individual commissioner about this, but I believe they're going to go as close to the state code as they can this time,” he said. “I believe that's the right way to handle it.”

Salter said it's hard to say when the ordinance might be finalized and passed by the commissioners.

“We've been working on it for a while, but it takes some time,” he said. “We hope the fact that we've asked the sheriff to begin the hiring process indicates a sense of urgency on the part of the Commission.”

Voters in Cherokee County gave approval in 2006 for the Commission to exercise certain health and safety powers -- including animal control -- granted by the state Legislature in the Alabama Limited Self-Governance Act of 2005.