Madison County will keep its animal control services in 2009.
County commissioners voted 3-2 Monday to retain the county’s current animal control services, with commissioners Stanley Thomas and John Pethel voting to lay off two out of the three animal control staff members.
“I make a motion that we abolish animal control as it is and suspend one full-time and one part-time person,” said Pethel.
Thomas and Pethel favored having code enforcement officer Jack Huff answer vicious dog calls. They said the county needs to save money and that the animal control service is not worth the expense.
“I’ve had a number of complaints about the attitude of animal control,” said Pethel. “… If it came to a vote of the people, then it (animal control) wouldn’t pass by a wide margin. This is a way to save money. We’re in a budget crunch and I feel this is the best way to go. … It’s causing more trouble than the good we’re getting out of it.”
Thomas said he has received complaints about how animal control officers enforce the county’s ordinances. He said one person complained to him that a dog attacked his cats and that the animal control officer was more interested in whether his cats had their shots than in catching the dog that attacked his pets.
“Our ordinance is designed for a big animal control department,” said Thomas. “We need adjustments to our ordinance and how we do business and what our priorities are.”
Thomas said he favors cutting animal control instead of other services.
“I’m not cutting the health department for animal control,” said Thomas.
Commissioner Wesley Jordan agreed.
“Me neither,” he said. “But we’re not at that point.”
Commissioner Mike Youngblood said that animal control was created in response to a real public safety problem. He said there had been numerous instances in the Hull area of dogs running loose, attacking kids and harassing walkers and joggers.
“Animal control does great things for district three and I will continue to support them and won’t cut them,” said Youngblood, who was joined by Jordan and commissioner Bruce Scogin with a vote in favor of animal control.
For your information (your poor misguided information) I GIVE A CRAP ABOUT HULL and the surrounding area. A commissioner is supposed to represent the area they are elected to preside over. Animal control has been good to this area and evidently two other districts.
Grow up and learn a little bit about the government system and a little less about hatred and good ol boy politics.
The rest of the county doesn't want a dog catcher, so we shouldn't be paying for idiots in Hull who moved into a rural county to "escape" the crappy city they lived in before; now they want to bring the crappy city with them!
Newsflash: Madison County is a poor, rural, agricultural, farming community...not an appropriate environment for expensive "gubment" hand-holding like animal control.
Now, I have barking dogs behind my house and I would love to have the same animal control policy.
This is 2008 and you are still living in the past. Wake up.
Just like the Rec Dept. another waste of taxpayer money!!!!!!!!!
Look forward to seeing this brought to a vote again when Dove and Mr. Bond take office.
Better yet, why don't we let the people of Madison County vote on this issue? Why not let the people decide? Why don't Youngblood and Scogin want to give the citizens an opportunity to be heard on this issue in the form of a referendum? The perfect time was to put it on the November ballot when we had a record turnout. Nope...they're more concerned with giving our money to their friends who ride around the county all day in the dogcatcher trucks doing a lot of things other than their jobs.
Nope, instead, our tax assessments are all screwed up, tax bills are late, thieves freely take what they want at the courthouse, EMS is underfunded, Sheriff's dept. is underfunded, but Wes Jordan, Mike Youngblood and Bruce Scogin want to spend our money keeping track of whose dog poops where and keeping their pals on the payroll. Wonder why our govt. is the laughingstock of the state of Georgia? Look no further than our commissioners priorities: they spend more time fussing and wasting money on the drama around the dogcatchers than managing the budget.
Your taxes are going up again, folks, and what do you have to show for it? Ineffective govt. and dog-catchers!