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Fond du Lac council adopts broader dangerous-dog and park-code changes; residents press for enforcement
Summary
The Fond du Lac City Council approved Ordinance 3808, updating multiple municipal code chapters including dangerous dogs and park rules. Public commenters urged stronger enforcement and clearer responsibility for follow-up after attacks.
The Fond du Lac City Council on an unspecified date approved Ordinance 3808, amending multiple chapters of the city code to address alcohol in parks, battery, dangerous dogs, digging and excavating in parks, animal bites and park closing hours.
Residents who spoke during public comment urged the council to ensure the new rules are enforced, saying written ordinances are insufficient without active implementation. A member of the public who identified themselves only during comments said, “But now the issue is how can they and will they be effective? How and will they be enforced? Because to me, that's a big huge part of this.” The speaker added, “How, when, Who's the burden on? Is it a burden on the police? Is it a burden on the attorneys? Is it a burden on the victims to find a lawyer?”
Peggy Zechek, a resident who said she filed a police report after a dog incident, told council members she and neighbors had felt “like hostages” while waiting for follow-up. “We never heard back until I called, and I was told I had to go online and get the report back,” Zechek said. “I know we don't have anybody that governs dogs, but I'm praying and hoping that with this, these new ordinances go into effect, and they will be handled.”
City Attorney Hoffman told council members the ordinance before them was the same version presented two weeks earlier with an additional provision requested by Council Member Schuessler to clarify nuisance abatement authority. Hoffman said the added section makes explicit that nothing in the chapter “shall be construed as prohibiting the abatement of a public nuisance by the city or its officials in accordance with the laws of the state of Wisconsin and/or chapter 476 of the code of the city of Fond du Lac.” She added that, in her view, the changes together with state law and other portions of the city code provide an adequate framework for addressing dog-related problems.
Council Member Mullen thanked Hoffman and others for their work and said the ordinance “has made some real progress” even if it did not go as far as he might prefer. The council voted to approve the ordinance; the vote was recorded as passing unanimously in the meeting transcript. The motion was made by Mr. Mullen and seconded by Mr. Godfrey.
The discussion and public comments highlighted a recurring concern: residents want clarity about which agency or office will carry enforcement responsibilities when the new rules take effect. The transcript records repeated requests for information about whether enforcement falls to police, city attorneys or another body and whether complainants will receive proactive follow-up from city staff rather than having to retrieve online reports themselves.
Council materials and the city attorney's remarks referenced applicable state law and city code sections but did not specify a single enforcement office in the public comments excerpted in the transcript.
The ordinance's passage completes a code update phase but leaves enforcement questions raised by residents as outstanding implementation items for city staff and elected officials to clarify going forward.
