Article Contributed on: 6/21/2009 1:55:39 PM
Pet owners can expect to receive higher fines for animal code violations as the city prepares to change the way it levies fees.
City council reviewed a proposal June 22 that would allow the city's board of environmental health to set fines and fees for animal services and civil penalties as opposed to the current court system. The move will ultimately result in higher fines for everything from failure to pick up waste to animal cruelty.
Repeat offenders would face especially high penalties. For example, dog owners who are caught with their pets off leash would face $80 for a first violation, $150 for the second and $300 for the third violation and above.
Current off-leash fines are less stringent. The first violation is still $80, the second is $105 and the third and above are at the discretion of the courts.
Though the fee hikes are in some cases significant, it's a far cry from what the department of environmental health originally proposed earlier this year. Officials attempted to raise the fine for off-leash violations to as much as $500 for repeat offenders, but ultimately revised those plans after public outcry over the severity of the hike.
But the board of environmental health hasn't yet entirely abandoned the more severe fees yet. Instead, the department will wait until the city's master dog park plan is fully implemented to give pet owners more time to become familiar with areas they can legally allow their dogs to run around without a leash, according to Sherry Purdy, deputy manager of environmental health.
The fee hikes are being proposed to help improve compliance and minimize repeat offenders, said Meghan Hughes, communications director for the department of environmental health.
"It will help us achieve a little better compliance," Hughes said. "When these things go through the courts, there's often a higher level of dismissal."
It also would help ease the burden on the courts, she said.
The city currently boasts a number of dog parks with both fenced off-leash areas and areas that take advantage of existing natural barriers. They include Berkeley Park at Sheridan Boulevard and West 46th Avenue, Barnum Park at Hooker Street and West Fifth Avenue, Kennedy Soccer Complex at East Hampden Avenue and South Dayton Street, Fuller Park at Franklin Street and East 29th Avenue, Green Valley Ranch East at Jebel Street and East 45th Avenue and Stapleton Dog Park at Montview Boulevard and Syracuse Street.
Proposed fines for animal code violations
Barking dog (proposed civil fine)
1st Violation - $125
2nd Violation - $200
3rd Violation & above - $300
Current fines
1st violation - $100 (plus $30 court costs)
Subsequent violations - Court
Birds (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $300
2nd violation - $700
3rd violation & above - $999
Current fines
Court discretion
Cruelty (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $300
2nd violation - $700
3rd violation & above - $999
Current fines
Court discretion
Failure to pick up pet waste (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $150
2nd violation - $250
3rd violation & above - $500
Current fines
1st violation - $50 (plus $30 court costs)
Subsequent violations - Court
Herding/grazing (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $100
2nd violation - $300
3rd violation & above - $500
Current fines
Court discretion
Interference with officer (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $125
2nd violation - $200
3rd violation & above - $300
Current fines
Court discretion
Leash (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $80
2nd violation - $150
3rd violation & above - $300
Current fines
1st violation - $50 (plus $30 court costs)
2nd violation - $75 (plus $30 court costs)
3rd violation and above - Court
License (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $75
2nd violation - $100
3rd violation & above - $200
Current fines
1st violation - $30 (plus $30 court costs)
Subsequent violations - Court
Livestock/fowl permit (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $125
2nd violation - $300
3rd violation & above - $500
Current fines
Court discretion
Manure (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $150
2nd violation - $250
3rd violation & above - $500
Current fines
Court discretion
Neglect (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $200
2nd violation - $500
3rd violation & above - $700
Current fines
Court discretion
Quarantine (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $300
2nd violation - $700
3rd violation & above - $999
Current fines
Court discretion
Rabies vaccination (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $100
2nd violation - $250
3rd violation & above - $500
Current fines
1st violation - $40 (plus $30 court costs)
Subsequent violations - Court
Spay/neuter (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $250
2nd violation - $550
3rd violation & above - $999
Current fines
1st violation- $200 (plus $30 court costs)
2nd violation - $500 (plus $30 court costs)
3rd violation & above - Court
Trapping (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $300
2nd violation - $700
3rd violation & above - $999
Current fines
Court discretion
Possession of wild/dangerous animals (proposed civil fines)
1st violation - $200
2nd violation - $500
3rd violation & above - $700
Current fines
Court discretion
SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH