Orange County NC Website
a requirement for minimum kennel size for outdoor housing of dogs <br />an exemption for organized and lawful animal functions such as hunting obedience <br />training and law enforcement training of a duration of not more than seven days <br />an 18montheducation period including twelve months of public outreach and six <br />months of issuing warnings before citations would be issued <br />Chair Carey agreed that this issue was thoroughly discussed at the ASAB because he <br />attended some of these meetings <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if this recommendation was only talking about tethering <br />dogs since farm animals also get tethered Kris Bergstrand said that the focus is on dogs <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he did not serve on any of the animal boards but he <br />does care about animals He asked that this summary be put in some rural stores etc He <br />wants to be clear that it is only talking about dogs <br />Chair Carey said that this is a recommendation but it is incumbent upon the Board to <br />have discussions about this and to hold public hearings before the changes are adopted This <br />is the Countys current policy <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the title should read Proposed Orange County Dog <br />Tethering Ordinance <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked Animal Services Director Bob Marotto about any <br />additional demand on animal control with this proposed change Bob Marotto said that as he <br />talked with other counties it does not seem to be a lot more and it even helped to curb other <br />infractions to the ordinance He said that on the outset there will be an increase in workload <br />but as familiarity increases the workload will even out <br />Kris Bergstrand said that there was akneejerk reaction from a lot of people that dogs <br />would overrun the area but this is not the case <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if there were other counties that considered a tethering <br />ordinance but did not enact one Kris Bergstrand said that one of the counties had to reword <br />portions of their ordinance due to complaints but other than that there are none <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she is interested in the rationale of the threehour limit <br />per 24 hours Kris Bergstrand said that they were trying to balance the need for legitimate <br />tethering such as people with disabilities who cannot walk their dogs and for those animals <br />that enjoy being outside and can be tethered humanely <br />Kris Bergstrand said that there were also discussions about mini nonprofits that could <br />help people get fences or kennels and stop tethering <br />Jean ConneratAustin said that two counties they talked with had aphaseinfor the <br />ordinance The ASAB does not want canine ownership to be an elitist situation <br />Commissioner Nelson said that the 18montheducation period is one of the most <br />important aspects of this recommendation He asked about the next step and said that it <br />would be in the best interest to have a draft ordinance at the public hearing <br />Chair Carey suggested an FAQ and answers segment with the draft ordinance <br />2 Review of Personnel Ordinance <br />Laura Blackmon said that this ordinance was originally developed in the 1980sfrom a <br />policy Certain segments have been revised over the years She said that staff thought it <br />would be good to have a complete look at the ordinance and suggest revisions <br />Policy and Compliance Officer Annette Moore said that the ordinance in 1975 was <br />brought forward when Manpower asked the Board of County Commissioners to develop <br />policies and the Board looked to the Office of State Personnel and received a grant to write <br />the first Personnel Policy There were changes and updates and in 1985 the Board revised