Dog fee legislation advances out of Finance Committee

Amended to not take effect until January

TROY, N.Y. » While it might eventually cost less for city residents to get their dogs back from the pound, it wouldn’t be until January that the fees were lowered. The Finance Committee voted Thursday to advance a change to the city’s dog ordinance that drastically lowers the fee schedule for getting dogs back that have been seized. Under the proposed ordinance, first-timers would pay a $50 fee, the second time they’d pay $100, while third and subsequent impoundments within three years would be $150 each. If a seized dog is unlicensed, the additional penalty would be $50. The current fee structure is $350 per dog, with $50 added for each day the animal is held. Get- ting back an unlicensed dog costs an additional $100. The proposal to lower the fees was floated by City Council Member David Bissember, who chairs the General Services Committee. It passed General Services in June. The rationale behind lowering the fees is that compared to neighboring communities, Troy’s are quite high, and while lowering them would technically leave a $15,000 hole in the budget, the hoped-for increase in dog redemptions and license fees would offset it. Carmella Mantello, president of the City Council and chair of the Finance Committee, said Monday

she motioned for an amendment to the change so that it wouldn’t take effect until January. This, she said, avoids there being a hole in the city’s budget.

She said she understands lowering them, as they’re high even for people of moderate income. Plus, the fees have to be paid in cash, up-front.

Bissember said that while he wanted the change to take effect as soon as the City Council approves it, which he ex-

pects it will, he agreed to the delayed effect in order to get the legislation moving.