Marty
08-04-2005, 01:04 PM
Davenport, IA --
The Davenport Animal Hearing Commission set a date for a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would ban pit bull dogs in the city, but not before expressing concern and confusion over its role.
Several members of the commission said they were not informed about the scope of their mission — recommending possible changes to the city's dangerous dog laws and soliciting public input — until shortly before their regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm not sure yet whether I'm on board with this," commission chairwoman Vickie Mulch said as the members checked their calendars, looking for a date they all have free.
The commission set a hearing date of 4:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the City Council chambers.
Member Mary Walters said she learned Monday that the group would be responsible for holding the special meeting. That was four days after the City Council's Public Safety Committee assigned the task to the Animal Hearing Commission. The only reason she found out then, Walters said, is because of her job in the Scott County Clerk's office, where she ran into Assistant City Attorney Chris Jackson.
Walters passed the information on to some of her fellow commissioners, but said the brief conversation she had with Jackson did not give her a good idea of what the commission was being asked to do.
"When he mentioned this to me, it was not an in-depth conversation," she added.
Alderman Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, is leading the effort to create a pit bull ban in the wake of several dog attacks on people around the Quad-Cities this summer. Officials in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Denver have offered to help Davenport establish such an ordinance modeled after new laws on the books in those cities.
At the Public Safety Committee's meeting last week, Alderman Barney Barnhill, 7th Ward, said the Animal Hearing Commission's familiarity with animal control issues makes it the logical choice for recommending any ordinance changes to the council.
Commissioner Glen Stewart expressed trepidation, though.
"I don't think we should be making decisions when the aldermen are paid to make decisions," he said.
Mulch said she supports the idea of holding a public input meeting and may be willing to give a recommendation on the proposed ordinance. But she is not interested in sitting on a public body that has the power to decide whether or not a dog should be euthanized.
"I will not be a part of deciding who lives and who dies," she said. "I will not be part of a Gestapo squad."
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.
The Davenport Animal Hearing Commission set a date for a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would ban pit bull dogs in the city, but not before expressing concern and confusion over its role.
Several members of the commission said they were not informed about the scope of their mission — recommending possible changes to the city's dangerous dog laws and soliciting public input — until shortly before their regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm not sure yet whether I'm on board with this," commission chairwoman Vickie Mulch said as the members checked their calendars, looking for a date they all have free.
The commission set a hearing date of 4:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the City Council chambers.
Member Mary Walters said she learned Monday that the group would be responsible for holding the special meeting. That was four days after the City Council's Public Safety Committee assigned the task to the Animal Hearing Commission. The only reason she found out then, Walters said, is because of her job in the Scott County Clerk's office, where she ran into Assistant City Attorney Chris Jackson.
Walters passed the information on to some of her fellow commissioners, but said the brief conversation she had with Jackson did not give her a good idea of what the commission was being asked to do.
"When he mentioned this to me, it was not an in-depth conversation," she added.
Alderman Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, is leading the effort to create a pit bull ban in the wake of several dog attacks on people around the Quad-Cities this summer. Officials in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Denver have offered to help Davenport establish such an ordinance modeled after new laws on the books in those cities.
At the Public Safety Committee's meeting last week, Alderman Barney Barnhill, 7th Ward, said the Animal Hearing Commission's familiarity with animal control issues makes it the logical choice for recommending any ordinance changes to the council.
Commissioner Glen Stewart expressed trepidation, though.
"I don't think we should be making decisions when the aldermen are paid to make decisions," he said.
Mulch said she supports the idea of holding a public input meeting and may be willing to give a recommendation on the proposed ordinance. But she is not interested in sitting on a public body that has the power to decide whether or not a dog should be euthanized.
"I will not be a part of deciding who lives and who dies," she said. "I will not be part of a Gestapo squad."
Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.