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Read comments (5)The final reading of ordinance number 821 would make it illegal to sell or give away animals in public places in Shelbyville, unless the person in question is a dealer.
The topic has arisen due to the continuing debate about animal control in the city. Shelbyville's animal control officer told the council earlier this year that one of the sources of the dilemma surrounding stray dogs is the fact that the animals are given away in retail parking lots, only to be later abandoned by the new owners.
The ordinance allows local animal control and the Humane Association to hold adoptions and would not prevent people from selling or giving away pets from their own residence.
The council will address a resolution to authorize non-profit appropriations for fiscal year 2008-09 totaling $106,829. The measure has to be passed separately from the city budget, which was approved last month. City manager Ed Craig said the organizations must turn in their financial statements to the city before the funds could be approved.
The approval of Murfreesboro-based firm Griggs & Maloney Inc. to conduct the city's engineering will be on the agenda, as well as hiring the firm Solutia to handle fine collections for municipal court.
The council will also look at alternatives for amending the city's charter to clarify the method used to appoint members to the Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewer Board. The charter change would alter the voting requirement to "a majority of those present and voting" from "a majority of those present."
The change in the city's charter would require the approval of the state legislature, which cannot take place until next year.
Also before the council Thursday will be appointments to the city's beer board, library board and airport authority.
WHAT'S NEXT
The city council meets at 6 p.m. in the courtroom of the City Hall Annex at Shelbyville Police headquarters.
The Bedford County Animal Control takes owner surrender. I do not understand why people drop their dogs out in a rural area to starve to death slowly. The dog chases the car which abandoned it as far as it can see then runs around lost in a new area not knowing what will happen or who will mistreat it. They have no food and water,people shoot at them, run over them, shew them off, beat them, other dogs chase them, they are stuck out in the weather with no shelter and so many other things. Yes the Animal control is over run taking in over 150 animals in two weeks but at least they were given shelter, food and water and care and a chance (although a short one) to be adopted. I hate that the BCAC has to put down so many good animals that would be great friends to someone and I hate worse to see someone dump their pets. We need stricter laws and more help for the workers at Animal Control and Humane Assoc. along with more room.
I have been taking in strays for the last 2 years getting them spayed/neutered ,at my own expense. We NEED A LOW PRICED PROGRAM TO GET ANIMALS FIXED. Maybe then we will see less strays.
The $106,000 plus, could be used for a traveling spay/neuter program just liket the one for Rutherford County. Why use another company to collect fines, especially one in Murfreesboro? We should keep our money in our own town, or county. How did a Murfreesboro business come up in the first place, is this the buddy thing, give the business to someone you know instead of someone who lives HERE.
Hmmm the pet dilemma is not as important as something else that people seem to be missing.
Why would we hire Solutia when we could hire employees from Bedford county to collect the fines? The minute you hire an outside firm to collect debts, it become a Federal issue covering the FDCPA and FCRA. I find it "passing the buck" type of mentality that shouldn't even have been even thought of.
That is like hiring an outside Fire Department to replace our current one.
We have always had strays or dropped off dogs in our area off Hwy 130. Now it seems there are more than usual. If this is passed I would presume that dropping off and abandoning these pets will increase. I witnessed an elderly couple standing beside there car with a cat and dog on the hwy. I thought they were just letting them out to use the bathroom, but when I came back from town the dog had been run over and the cat was nowhere to be found. Again only an assumption on my part, is that they were put out and abandoned. Many cannot afford to pay vet bills and feed their pets and are dropping them off in the country hoping that they will have a chance to find a new home. We have always needed a shelter we could take our unwanted pets to and also adopt a pet if we needed one. With the dollar where it is I believe we will be seeing alot of strays and drop offs in the coming months. We need a vet to do low cost spay/neuter one day a week or month to help control the animal population in Bedford County.
Guess what happens if people cant give away pets in public places? They get abandoned in some rural area, or they get thrown in the river.