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Residents urge council to protect volunteers as Waverly reworks 'cats at large' ordinance
Summary
Residents who run or support trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs told the Waverly City Council that a proposed "cats running at large" ordinance could unintentionally penalize volunteers; council said it will revise Section F to avoid that outcome and return the ordinance for a later reading.
Several residents urged the Waverly City Council to avoid language in a proposed ordinance that would penalize volunteers who feed or temporarily harbor community cats. Kelly Bales Brownfield, a Waverly resident and former licensed veterinary technician, told the council that coordinated trap-neuter-release work had reduced colony sizes over time and that overly broad owner-liability language could stop volunteers from helping.
"If volunteers become legally responsible for every single cat that they feed, who's gonna trap and spay and neuter the cats then?" Brownfield said, arguing that volunteers and local rescues had helped bring numbers down in several colonies.
The concern centers on Section F of Ordinance 46-2026, titled in the draft text as part of a cats-at-large and nuisance-control measure, which the ordinance currently describes as "any person harboring or feeding stray cats shall be deemed and held responsible as the owner of the cat." Council members said chiefs and staff have prepared a proposed revision intended to accommodate temporary harboring and TNR practices. Chair (acting meeting chair) said the revision aims "to try to accommodate volunteer efforts" and that the amended language will be brought to the next meeting for the third reading and final vote.
Council did not take a final vote on Ordinance 46 at this meeting; the item remains scheduled for further revision and another reading. Several residents offered to organize volunteers and partner with rescues and local groups to support low-cost spay/neuter options, and council members encouraged follow-up after the meeting.
