CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The Bradley County Commission will consider at least two proposals for animal control services at its Sept. 28 meeting.
On Monday, two proposals were presented by Commissioner Thomas Crye, chairman of an ad hoc committee tasked with exploring animal control service options, for a formal vote. One proposal involved the Bradley County Sheriff's Office; the other called for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals of Bradley County, the county's nonprofit animal shelter service provider, to expand its duties to include animal pickup.
A dog stares from inside a kennel at the Cleveland Animal Control Shelter in Cleveland, Tenn.
Bradley County Commissioner Thomas CryeInstead of voting on the proposals, commissioners voted 13-1 to discuss the matter at their next work session. Commissioner Howard Thompson voted against doing so.
The cost for employing the sheriff's office to provide animal control services amounts to $120,000; the estimated cost for the SPCA to handle animal pickup ranges between $100,000 and $110,000. These costs are in addition to a proposed $120,000 annual agreement to retain the animal sheltering service provided by the SPCA, which represents a $40,000 annual increase over its current $80,000 agreement.
Commissioner Bill Winters expressed a desire not to limit the upcoming discussion to Crye's proposals.
"I think there's a third option," said Winters, citing a recent discussion between city leaders and the county's animal control exploration committee. "That third option is the city taking over the entire situation for $300,000."
Although the ad hoc committee did not recommend restoring the county's longstanding agreement with Cleveland Animal Control, which ended in March 2014, Crye described the conversations with city councilmen as "very fruitful."
The sheriff's office animal pickup plan is scaled back from a proposal presented by Sheriff Eric Watson in June.
The new plan pays for two officers, with estimated personnel costs of $110,000, plus a budget of $10,000 in overtime associated in response to 24/7 calls.
The previous plan called for 24/7 animal control service that would be provided by four deputies for an estimated annual personnel cost of $179,380, which did not include overtime pay. On average, deputies earn $4,000 annually in overtime, Watson said.
Watson's original proposal, offered in the aftermath of a number of highly publicized dog attacks, called for handling stray animals.
"The only way that we will solve the problem with stray animals and make our community safer is to collect and deal with stray animals and to get the community's cooperation on spay and neutering programs," he said.
Comprehensive stray animal pickup is not addressed in either of the two ad hoc committee proposals, except in cases of injured animals or dangerous situations.
The new sheriff's office proposal requires it to be "the upfront agency concerning animals that are endangering humans and [it] will be responsible for and encouraged to write citations against those citizens who are not properly keeping their animals in accordance with laws, statutes and resolutions," according to the ad hoc committee summary of services.
The plan also calls for the SPCA to continue to respond to calls about wounded and dangerous animals.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.