The Marion County Board has passed an ordinance to fine residents in rural parts of the county for excessive complaints of dogs running at large.
The vote came after State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth told them an ordinance violation was probably the best option for getting quick action on a problem.
“I’ve got death cases, sex cases that are going to take priority over a dog running at large. These are going to be a low priority. If a citation is issued, it gets us past that.”
A violation of the dog running at a large ordinance would be a must appear ticket.
The first violation would be a warning. A second offense would carry a $100 fine, a third violation $200, and fourth and subsequent violations would carry a $300 fine.
If the person getting the ticket decides to fight it, Hudspeth says his office would then have to become more involved in preparing a case or a decision could be made to drop the ticket at that point.
County Animal Control Officer Ken Ferguson earlier indicated he only envisioned writing an ordinance violation for a dog running at large about five times a year when other efforts have failed to solve the problem.
The board had tabled the issue at the last meeting to get input from the state’s attorney. The vote in favor of the ordinance was ten to two with board members Angie Heistand and Wes Goza voting against it. Board members Steve Whritenour, Sharon Woodward, and Jim Purcell were absent.
In other action, the board approved a $25,000 contract to upgrade the DVR system that records all the video surveillance at the courthouse, law enforcement center, public service building, and the records annex. The issue had been left off the agenda of the last regular meeting.
Hudspeth also advised board members the new iPads each received were for county business only and could only be used to receive mail and agendas.
He said board members could not communicate among themselves without violating the open meetings law and leaving their conversations discoverable if a freedom of information act was filed.
