Butte City council hears animal control call for Chapter 6 rewrite, places review in suspense until Sept. 30

Animal Services Director Hogarth told the Butte City Council Committee of the Whole on July 8 that the city's nuisance-animal ordinance is outdated and difficult to enforce, and staff will present a consolidated rewrite of Chapter 6 for later consideration.

Hogarth said the ordinance, written in 1981 and only intermittently amended, leaves enforcement staff without clear definitions or penalties. "It's a terrible ordinance," Hogarth said, adding that anonymous complaints often lack the detail needed to locate animals or build evidence for court. Officer Sandiford told commissioners that anonymous tips often only identify "the blue house on the corner" and that the department plans to require complainant names, contact information, written statements and barking logs so there is admissible evidence when cases reach the legal process.

The department described enforcement constraints: the existing language can make violations difficult to cite or pursue, court processing under misdemeanor provisions can take months, and animal control lacks authority to seize animals in most barking-complaint situations. Staff said they reviewed language used in similarly sized jurisdictions and will bring a full rewrite consolidating older ordinances into a single nuisance-animal chapter.

Commissioners thanked staff for the work and asked that the department continue engaging complainants and other stakeholders. Commissioner Shea moved to place Communication 2026-6278 in the suspense file to allow further review and coordination; the motion was seconded and the clerk recorded a unanimous vote in favor. The motion passed. Staff said a complete draft of the Chapter 6 rewrite will be presented at a later meeting for formal consideration.

The council took no immediate regulatory action beyond placing the communication in the suspense file until Sept. 30 and did not adopt ordinance language at this meeting.