Franklin County OKS one more year for later dog tag purchase deadline
The Franklin County commissioners agreed Tuesday to continue, for one year, an extension of the annual deadline for dog owners to purchase licenses for their pets.
Franklin County Auditor Michael Stinziano sought the continuation with hopes of gaining a clearer picture of whether an extra two months prompts better compliance with the tag requirements.
In late 2019, the commissioners initially approved a two-year pilot program, extending the dog license to March 31, from the usual Jan. 31 deadline.
And the number of tags purchased during those extra two months has steadily increased, from about 10,000 in February and March 2019 (prior to the extension) to 22,207 during those two months in 2020 and upward of 22,700 in February and March of this year, said Monica Moran, spokeswoman for the auditor’s office.
There were 99,139 total licensed dogs in Franklin County in 2019, 100,104 in 2020, and more than 95,000 so far this year, with more than two months remaining to purchase tags.
Stinziano told the commissioners Tuesday that one more year with the extended deadline should provide enough evidence whether to continue the later tag purchase.
“We still haven’t had the ability to have a true test of the impact of having a March extension in a nonpandemic environment,” he said.
Dogs at least 3 months old are required to be licensed. Residents registering their animals by the deadline pay $18 for an annual license for spayed or neutered and certain other dogs or $35 for those not altered.
Three-year and permanent tags also are available. The fees involved generally double if purchased after the deadline. Proceeds from the license sales help fund the Franklin County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center.
In other business Tuesday, the commissioners approved a $2.5 million grant, backed by federal coronavirus relief funds, for a new Women Back to Work program to assist local women in returning to the work force.
The program was spearheaded, in part, by former interim Commissioner Dawn Tyler Lee, noting that Black women have experienced the steepest drop in labor force participation and the slowest job recovery since January 2020.
County officials tabled the outlay earlier this month after questions about the program, in particular its targeted outreach to unemployed Black women, were raised by Columbus NAACP President Nana Watson.
Watson met with county administrators last week and Tuesday expressed her support for the effort.
“We certainly appreciate the time that the county commissioners took to respond to our questions,” she said. “If there’s anything else we can do to advance this pilot, please do not hesitate to call.” mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog