Commissioners pass animal control ordinance

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

After several years without animal control in Putnam County and several months of discussion, the Putnam County Commissioners on Monday unanimously passed a county animal control ordinance.

The new law creates an animal control officer for the county under the command of the Putnam County Sheriff.

Some of the funding for animal control personnel and a reopened humane shelter will be partially funded by the county again enforcing the annual $5 County Option Dog Tax, which is already on the books but has not been enforced for several years.

Additional funding for the program will be drawn from the Humane Society of Putnam County as well as contributions from individual communities within the county.

At this time, the commissioners are chipping in an additional $50,000 from the Economic Development Income Tax fund.

"I think this is a good thing for Putnam County and all the cities and towns in the county," Commissioner Don Walton said. "It ought to work out real good."

The exact nature of a partnership between the county and the HSPC is still being defined and will be voted on at an upcoming commissioners meeting. The commissioners have chosen at this time to forego an additional county dog licensing fee that would go further in funding animal control in the county.

The proposed animal control advisory board, also outlined in the ordinance, will be appointed by the commissioners and composed of nominees from Greencastle, Cloverdale, Bainbridge, Roachdale, Fillmore and Russellville; the Heritage Lake Homeowners Association; HSPC; and the Putnam County sheriff.

These members will also be appointed at an upcoming meeting.

The exact timetable for getting the new officer and the shelter up and going remains up in the air. However, the county officials have indicated a target of the summer months.

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  • This position has not worked before... Why do they think it will work now?

    -- Posted by WTFRUthinkin on Wed, Mar 5, 2014, at 11:18 AM
  • So the Humane Society is going to chip in money for this position? The same Humane Society that

    cannot afford to run a shelter? Is this use even allowable under the edit tax as I fail to see the economic development, not trying to be snarky just doesn't make much sense.

    -- Posted by taylortwp on Wed, Mar 5, 2014, at 12:38 PM
  • the Humane Society has failed 3 times and been forced to close. Why do the commissioners think that it will work this time? Has anyone looked at the building? It has been closed for a long time and I would question the condition of the plumbing, wiring, and the overall physical status. The Humane Society has failed because they tried to run a "no kill" shelter and it didn't work. Each time it was forced to close, it was headed by a DePauw person.

    -- Posted by albert on Wed, Mar 5, 2014, at 6:54 PM
  • Why is there no input from Reelsville/Putnamville area on that board? I thought Washington Twp was one of the largest townships in the county.

    -- Posted by keeney2 on Thu, Mar 6, 2014, at 3:03 PM
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