Saint Clair County committee forwards animal-control ordinance after heated public comment

The Saint Clair County judiciary/public safety committee voted Thursday to send Resolution 26-13 — an ordinance that narrows animal-control investigatory authority and assigns criminal investigations to law enforcement — to the full Board of Commissioners.

The motion to forward the ordinance followed more than two hours of public comment and a sequence of statements from the sheriff's office, the county prosecutor and the county attorney explaining how the proposal would change operations. The sheriff told the committee: "The Saint Clair County sheriff's department is not taking over animal control. We have no interest in taking over animal control," and said deputies would handle criminal investigations while animal control would continue to assist on-scene and care for animals.

County Prosecutor Mike Wendling said charging and prosecution decisions "are my decision." He told the committee that criminal complaints and the decision to prosecute rest with…