Board Revises Dog Control Law And Constabulary Law, Schedules Public Hearings On Both
by Alex Brooks
The Petersburgh Town Board held a workshop meeting on Monday December 5 to discuss revisions to a 2010 Dog Control Law and to the 2015 law establishing a Town Constable. [private]Gerald Russell, who serves the Town as both the Town Constable and the Dog Control Officer, was involved in writing the revisions to both laws and was present to discuss them with the Town Board.
The Dog Control Law was revised to make it more comprehensive and specific so that it would be more enforceable. Russell said under the old law he has encountered dog misbehavior that he could not cite as a violation. The revised law makes it unlawful for the owner to fail to control a dog when the result is bodily harm or injury, or damage or destruction to another person’s property.
Russell said he normally tries to work things out between the dog owner and the person complaining about the dog – his first approach is to be a mediator and work something out that everyone can live with. But when a dog is incorrigible or the owner is uncooperative, he has to have the ability to do something about it.
The Board agreed on language for the revised dog law and scheduled it for a public hearing at 7 pm on Thursday December 29. The revised text should be available to the public soon and will definitely be available prior to the Public Hearing – check with the Town Clerk if you would like to read and comment.
The Board also discussed revisions to the Town Constable law passed last year. The two main changes were to change the pay from hourly to salaried, and to give the Constable authority to write appearance tickets. There was a lot of discussion about this latter provision. Denise Church said she was nervous about the Town taking on law enforcement responsibilities. She would rather law enforcement be handled by County or State Police.
Russell made the case for a limited local law enforcement capability. He said response times for County and State Police are often lengthy, and those law enforcement officers may be less effective because they don’t know the local area.
Church seemed unconvinced, but she agreed to give the Constable authority to write appearance tickets so that he would be able to write tickets for building code violations. Enforcement of the building code has been an ongoing issue as the Town has not until now had a method of dealing with people who were uncooperative. The Board approved the revisions to the Constabulary law, giving the Constable authority to write appearance tickets, and scheduled it for a public hearing, also on Thursday December 29 at 7 pm.
The Board also scheduled its End Of The Year meeting for Thursday December 29 at 7:30 pm, and the Organizational Meeting for Tuesday, January 3 at 7 pm. [/private]