The Marion County Board has once again failed to reach a decision on a county ordinance to fine those who have dogs running at large.
The community relations committee recommended an ordinance that would have included a warning on a first occurrence, $100 fine on a second, $200 on a third, and $300 for a fourth and subsequent violation.
Committee Chair Bill Henson said Animal Control Officer Ken Ferguson had indicated the ordinance would only be used five times a year.
But board member Steve Whritenour derailed the proposal, calling it unnecessary.
“It’s overkill. We just need to examine each individual incident that happens we need to examine it, the animal control officer talks to the caller, get a written statement from that person, submit a report to the State’s Attorney office and let the State’s Attorney ultimately make the charging decision in the case to prosecute the owner for letting the dog run at large. That’s the easiest and simplest way to do it,” said Whritenour.
Whritenour says the State’s Attorney would end up prosecuting anyway if the dog owner did not voluntarily pay the fine.
The board agreed to table the ordinance and ask State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth to attend the next meeting to get his input on the best way to handle dogs running at large.
The county has talked on and off for years of having such an ordinance but has never put anything into place as the issue moves from State’s Attorney to State’s Attorney and County Board to County Board.
