During a Feb. 10 meeting, White County Commissioner Roger Mason addressed Steering Committee B about the future of animal services in the county. The discussion centered on the county’s current policies surrounding running the animal shelter and the possibility of hiring an animal control officer, as well as transitioning shelter operations to a nonprofit organization.
“Really, it boils down to whether or not we’re operating as animal control or we are operating as a county taxpayer-funded shelter,” Mason said, as he emphasized the need for the county to clarify its approach to animal management. “I’m not saying one way’s right or one way’s wrong, but that’s the decision that’s going to have to be made.”
A significant factor prompting this discussion is the volume of animal-related complaints received by the sheriff’s office. Mason pointed out that if the county decides to pursue an animal control model, funding for the position would come from the sheriff’s office. As a result, all shelter operations would need to be conducted by private non-profit organizations. He went on to say the next step would involve conversations with surrounding non-profits to assess their willingness to construct a shelter.
“There’s more than one nonprofit operating in the county that deals with animal rescue,” Mason said. “So how do you pick? There are at least three organizations that are 501(c)(3) in the county.”
He said that, to his knowledge, none of the three non-profits operating in White County have any plans or desire to build or manage a shelter as they are run primarily by volunteers.
“Your spay, neuter, shelter, adopting - that’s one function - and then the animal control is where you’re getting calls for bites and strays and those other things,” Mason said.
He elaborated on the differences between the functions of animal control and shelter operations and then expressed concerns that combining these two functions, as the county is now doing, may be contributing to the challenges they are facing.
Commissioner Jordan Cocke, a member of Steering Committee B, voiced his support for establishing an animal control officer, citing several reasons for his stance. He reminded the other commissioners the current animal control duties have largely fallen on the sheriff’s office, increasing their workload.
“I think we need to go towards animal control for White County and speak to Sheriff Page and see what he will work with us on,” Cocke remarked. “I think we need to go towards animal control and help out nonprofits, if we can, help them out with yearly donations.”
No actual decisions were made during the Steering Committee meeting, but the discussion proves there is a recognition that there is a need for a new approach to how White County handles their animal services.
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