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Residents press Spalding County over animal control enforcement and leadership
Summary
Multiple residents urged Spalding County commissioners to address alleged systemic failures at Animal Care & Control, citing avoidable emergency vet bills, unreturned calls, and concern for public safety; one speaker formally requested replacement of the director.
A string of public commenters at the April 20 Spalding County meeting criticized the operation and leadership of the county's Animal Care & Control and asked the commission to take decisive action.
"This community has a serious problem and it's not just the number of stray animals, it's the failure to act," said Ginger Borelli, a resident who described rescues stepping in to handle cases she says the county has ignored. Cynthia Sanders asked the board to "formally request the replacement or termination of the director of animal care and control," alleging repeated failures to follow Georgia law and county ordinances and arguing that the shortcomings create a public‑safety risk.
Other speakers described recurring avoidable veterinary costs that they say could have been prevented by better shelter handling or rescue coordination and urged an external audit or mystery‑shop inspections. Board members responded with commitments to review operations: Commissioner Watts said she met with residents and staff for two hours earlier in the week and emphasized a goal of ensuring animal welfare rather than personnel purges. Commissioners noted steps already taken — secret inspections, increased outreach, more events to move animals into homes — and said criminal animal cruelty would be prosecuted where appropriate.
No formal personnel action occurred at the meeting; commissioners asked staff and the director to look at specific concerns and report back, and several said they would explore additional staffing or operational changes to reduce response times and avoidable vet bills.
