Mayfield council to raise impound fees and adopt a new fee schedule by resolution

Councilors at the Jan. 7 work meeting discussed tightening enforcement for dogs that are repeatedly impounded and asked staff to prepare a fee-schedule resolution.

S2 reopened a discussion that began at a prior meeting about how many "strikes" the current ordinance allows and whether town policy provides adequate penalties after repeated offenses. A council member (S5) recommended starting the reclaim fee at $50 and doubling the fee each time an owner reclaims the dog (for example: $50, then $100, then $200). S2 noted that ordinance amendments typically take effect only after a waiting period and explained the council could adopt a resolution to change the fee schedule rather than rewriting the ordinance. "We just need to change the fee schedule," S1 said.

Council discussed existing arrangements with the contracted pound/dog clinic: the town's reclamation fees are currently applied to the clinic's boarding and vaccination charges and the council reported the town has not received net checks from the clinic in recent events. Members agreed the town should not subsidize boarding and vet costs and therefore should increase fees.

Staff were asked to prepare a resolution that specifies the new reclaim/impound fee schedule for council consideration at the next posted meeting. Any ordinance amendment would become effective according to the town's ordinance-notice schedule (S2 noted a 90-day waiting period for an ordinance, if one is used).

Next steps: staff will draft a resolution that updates the fee schedule and include estimated fiscal impact for the town's accounts.