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Mayor to send letter to county after criticism over tethering; council backs outreach
Summary
After social-media criticism linked Milton to unsafe animal tethering practices, the mayor said she would draft a letter (on mayoral or city letterhead) asking Santa Rosa County to consider regulation alignment with Escambia County; council signaled support and asked staff and police to coordinate.
The mayor told council she’d received messages accusing Milton of permitting unsafe tethering conditions and asked whether the city should seek consistency with Escambia County by asking the county to review tethering rules. She said she would write a letter on her mayoral letterhead and asked whether council wanted to be included. Several members signaled they were comfortable with a city letterhead approach.
Public commenters were mixed. Howard Steele (speaker 2) urged restraint, saying existing animal-cruelty statutes already apply and warned against creating unnecessary city ordinances. A county official and the police chief (speaker 16) advised caution: enforcement can be difficult where definitions such as 'extended time' or 'extreme weather' are ambiguous and police need clear, enforceable standards. The mayor and several members agreed to coordinate with county animal control and the police department before any formal push to change county rules.
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