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Health administrator asks board to consider county-run animal control and licensing
Summary
Elizabeth Townsend suggested exploring a county program to quarantine and manage dangerous animals, proposing a municipal survey and possible licensing to recover costs; she said municipalities had expressed preliminary interest but staffing and facility needs remain unresolved.
Elizabeth Townsend, introduced as representing the county health administration, told supervisors that the county receives animal bite reports and currently handles quarantines largely via at-home orders and occasional contracts with humane societies.
"We would need at least 1 or 2 employees to cover this," Townsend said, describing the staffing and kennel or contracted facility components the county would need to operate a quarantine program. She said municipalities including Bellevue, Preston and Maquoketa had indicated interest in participating and that a survey to quantify bites and municipal demand would be a sensible next step.
Townsend noted a prior program she worked on in another county had produced revenue — including licensing and quarantine fees — and said she had contacted vendors (e.g., pet-data systems) that can help with registration and cost recovery. Supervisors emphasized they would need more information about costs, ordinance authority, and whether upfront funding would be required before endorsing a program.
Board members asked staff to gather additional data from municipalities, review relevant state public-health obligations for bite reporting and quarantine, and return with a clearer budget and implementation plan before any formal county program or ordinance changes.
