The LaSalle County Public Safety Committee voted to adopt a resolution prohibiting the feeding of feral cats in unincorporated areas and directing any fines to Fund 55, the county animal-control fund. Committee members also reviewed a proposed agreement with IVAR for boarding stray animals and discussed changes to the county fee schedule and the animal-control administrator’s proposed reduction in administrative duties.

The committee approved the feral-cat feeding resolution after a motion by Joanne and a second by Ray; Chairman Brian Dose said fines under the resolution would be placed into Fund 55 to support animal-control operations. Dose told the committee he had "asked state attorneys to write up a resolution, and specifically make sure that we're not going after cats on farms." The motion carried with all members voting in favor.

Animal-control administrator (referred to in the meeting as "Doc") outlined a proposed IVAR arrangement intended to expand options for housing stray animals. Under the proposal, IVAR would charge $50 per night for boarding, a one-time $25 flea treatment when needed, and $70–$75 per hour for after-hours assistance. IVAR offered the county the option to reserve a kennel for $250 per month (about $3,000 per year). Doc said IVAR would not accept animals deemed "really vicious" or those requiring rabies quarantine; those animals would be handled at the county facility in Norway.

Committee members and staff flagged a discrepancy between the proposed IVAR rates and LaSalle County’s existing fee schedule. Doc said the county’s 2021 fee schedule lists a three-working-day holding period and an aggregate charge he believes is set at $68; he said that amount no longer covers real-world boarding costs and that the fee schedule and related ordinances need updating. Doc told the committee the likely changes would set boarding at $50 per night and increase the three-day holding fee to about $150; euthanasia/disposal and other line items would also be adjusted.

Members discussed practical collection challenges. Doc noted the county generally attempts to collect owner fees when reclaiming animals but that IVAR is reluctant to handle LaSalle County payments at its facility; the county plans to provide owners with a statement of charges and pursue collection through the county process. Doc warned that very high reclaimed-animal costs can lead owners to relinquish animals, shifting euthanasia and disposal costs back to the county.

On enforcement, Doc said deputies trained in the Illinois Animal Control Act have worked with residents feeding cats and with volunteers to trap and process feral cats. Trapped cats receive veterinary screening; if adoptable they are placed for adoption, if not they may be relocated to nonresidential farms or euthanized. The committee's resolution narrows enforcement to unincorporated areas of LaSalle County and explicitly excludes cats maintained on farms. The chair explained the resolution provides "teeth"—including a proposed $75 fine—and that the state's attorney’s office would manage prosecutions when deputies refer ordinance violations.

Doc also told the committee he cannot continue the administrative workload for animal control and proposed stepping back from administrative duties while remaining as a veterinarian and medical consultant. He said the Illinois Animal Control Act permits a nonveterinarian to serve as administrator and suggested the county consider creating a separate administrator role or a deputy administrator. Members asked the board and staff to draft a job description and to include possible compensation or stipend changes for consideration at upcoming meetings.

Next steps: the feral-cat resolution will be routed to the full board and the county’s normal committee pathways (finance/legislative) for final approval and any fee-schedule amendments; staff will return with proposed ordinance/fee changes. Committee members also asked the sheriff and staff to develop options and a draft job description for separating the administrator’s medical and administrative duties and to include any budget impacts when they return to committee.

No date for final board action was provided at the meeting.