OH: Loss of Newark dog warden may put burden on other departments

Loss of dog warden may put burden on other departments
BY AMY HOLLON • Advocate Reporter • March 6, 2010

NEWARK -- The layoff of Newark's dog warden could mean reduced enforcement of animal complaints, including stray animals and barking dogs, among other issues, according to local officials.

The Newark dog warden responded to 1,530 calls for service in 2009. The position is one of 11 named in February to be eliminated.

Now, it is unclear how much enforcement the county will be able to provide to regulate state laws and whether many of Newark's ordinances will continue to be enforced at all.

At least one city official, Councilman Ryan Bubb, is concerned about the impact.

"I guess my main concern is it has never really been spelled out to us how they are going to enforce animal control in the city," Bubb said. "I don't want to see our police officers bogged down with it."

Currently, the Licking County Animal Shelter responds to calls for loose dogs or vicious dogs, which are prohibited by state law, in the remainder of the county. Without a Newark animal control officer, the shelter would have to enforce the complaints in Newark, too.

But in 2009 the county responded to about 928 total complaints. Newark would add an additional 728 loose and vicious dog reports to the workload, according to numbers Newark Animal Control Officer Toby Wills provided to Newark City Council.

In addition, he received 287 calls for animal cruelty cases within the city.

"The county, to a certain extent, will try to be helpful to the city, but there is a reason why Newark went to its own animal control officer. It's because of the volume of calls," County Commissioner Tim Bubb said. "The reason Newark invested in it is because it was needed. This will put a strain on our ability to serve Licking County."

Bubb said the enforcement within the city will not be as complete without a dedicated officer.

"We are a little thin right now ourselves, covering this whole huge county," Bubb said. "(Taking calls) will be on an available and prioritized basis."

In addition, Licking County Dog Warden Jon Luzio said the county will not be responsible for many of the complaints Newark dealt with in the past because the county does not have the legal authority to enforce Newark ordinances.

That includes loose or stray cats, barking dogs, defecation removal or regulations regarding licensing pit bulls, Luzio said.

Newark also has regulations about how many vicious dogs an individual can own and prohibitions against certain types of farm animals and exotic animals.

Those types of calls previously have represented a significant amount of the complaints. For instance, of the 1,530 calls for service in Newark in 2009, 105 were for barking dogs.

Mayor Bob Diebold said he regretted having to get rid of the position.

The Newark City Council Finance Committee is expected to discuss the layoff at its Monday meeting. The city administration has laid off 11 employees as part of more than $2 million in budget cuts made to accommodate dramatically reduced revenue in the city.

Not having an animal control officer is expected to save the city $32,000 this year and $58,000 next year.

"If we could get any kind of slack on funding, that's one of the positions we want to refill," Diebold said.

But in the meantime, Diebold said Safety Director Roger Stollard and Police Chief Steven Sarver are considering what duties the police department will have to take on.

Although Diebold hopes to continue the same level of enforcement, he admits priorities will have to be set and some calls might be deemed more important than others.

Loss of dog warden may put burden on other departments | newarkadvocate.com | The Newark Advocate