Orange County NC Website
,~ <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the financial impact has no figures in it and no costs <br />versus revenue information available for comparison. He made reference to pages 5-6 and <br />asked that it be noted that this is only reflecting changes. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked about class 2 kennels and Bob Marotto said that there are <br />10-15 kennels. Commissioner Jacobs asked if owners of these kennels were sent this <br />document for comment and Bob Marotto said no. <br />Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 12 regarding comparison to other <br />counties and asked how these counties were chosen. Bob Marotto said that the Budget Office <br />did a broad survey of counties, and some counties were chosen because they were closer to <br />Orange County or if they were representative of the broader range of fees. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he asked his wife to review this and she tried to find <br />some of this information on the County's website, and it was impossible to tell how to <br />vaccinate, register, etc. His wife suggested putting a downloadable form on the website so <br />that people could know when to vaccinate their animals, when vaccinations are available, etc. <br />He also asked if there was information and definitions for the public nuisance violations. <br />Bob Marotto said that he does post licensing fees on the Internet and a downloadable <br />form for this; and there is also a form about public nuisance behavior regarding the complaint <br />process. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he is supportive of what the County is doing, but he <br />would not vote for this tonight. He thinks that two months is not enough time for public <br />notification of increasing fees. He would like to encourage people to do something instead of <br />punishing them. He suggested sending this to a limited number of kennel owners and get <br />feedback, as well as make it accessible on the Internet. <br />Chair Carey suggested that Commissioner Jacobs put comments in writing for the <br />ASAB. <br />Chair Carey said that he would vote for an extension of time but he would not vote <br />against it. <br />Ross Oglesbee said that there was a lot of discussion about getting people to vaccinate <br />their animals when they are registered, and the ASAB saw this change as an education <br />campaign, and also considering the time and costs involved for when people do not comply <br />with the ordinance. <br />Commissioner Nelson made reference to the issue of the education period and said <br />that six months would be preferable. Regarding the website, he said that the entire County <br />website is not user-friendly. He would like to bring the website to the 21St century. <br />Commissioner Nelson said that at first he thought the fees were steep but he has <br />learned that the ASAB works with people to help them to become compliant. He does support <br />this proposal. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee seconded by Commissioner Nelson to <br />close the public hearing. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to <br />approve the proposed amendments to the Orange County Animal Ordinance and Collection <br />Policy, with the amendment of the education period to six months. <br />VOTE: Ayes, 4; No, 1 (Commissioner Jacobs) <br />Commissioner Jacobs urged staff to still give this to the kennel owners for comments. <br />He would also like a report back from staff on the website. <br />