Fairfield council moves to draft ordinance after $11,000 animal-control bill

Fairfield Town Council members agreed on March 11 to draft an ordinance that would let the town recoup animal-control costs from residents after a recent shelter bill of roughly $11,000.

Chair (S2) told the council the town's animal-control episode came with an unusually high intake: “that bill was 10 times the amount of last year,” the chair said, and the sheriff reported about 49 animals were taken into the shelter during the period. The sheriff (S4) described the shelter workload and calls the office handled in February: “we had about 23 calls that the sheriff's office responded to,” including two accidents with injuries, a pair of animal complaints and multiple traffic stops.

Council members said the cost spike appears connected to a single property that produced most of the intakes. “When they have a lot of, like hoarder-type situations, the town or city will actually go after that resident to pay for the cost of it,” the sheriff said. Chair S2 said staff will draft an ordinance to give the town a clear mechanism to place charges on responsible residents.

Multiple members urged careful wording and outreach before billing to avoid shaming neighbors who may have been acting out of concern. One council member cautioned that an immediate email to residents explaining the situation should be handled delicately; Chair S2 said staff would prepare a community notice and a draft ordinance. Council members also noted that county and state animal-health rules apply and that the town lacks a standalone local ordinance spelling out cost recovery and enforcement details.

Next steps: staff will draft the ordinance language and a community notice for council review; enforcement procedures and billing mechanics will be discussed after the ordinance language is presented.