Dog license fees may jump
By Jessica Brown • jlbrown@enquirer.com • August 25, 2009
Hamilton County Commissioners will vote Wednesday whether to raise dog license fees by $6. If approved, instead of paying $13 to license your pooch next year, you'll pay $19.
The goal is to save the cash-strapped county money, allowing it to spend more in other areas like public safety. Dog license fees go into a pot of money called a kennel fund that pays for animal control. Ideally the fund would be self-sustaining. But only an estimated 25 percent to 35 percent of Hamilton County dog owners actually buy licenses for their dogs, even though it is required by law, according the county auditor and animal shelter. That means the fund consistently runs short.
The county is projected to spend $1.1 million this year to round up stray animals and run the dog license program. But license fees are only expected to generate around $800,000. So that means the county will spend about $300,000 from its general fund - the discretionary fund that also pays for public safety and other government functions - to subsidize the kennel fund.
The fee increase would close that gap next year. But raising license fees is always a hot-button issue because it means the few people who do the right thing by licensing their dogs will end up paying more.
An item on Enquirer.com's Politics Extra blog this week on the dog license issue this week drew dozens of comments. Most people were upset at the proposed increase.
License fees haven't been raised since 2001. Suggestions to double the fee last year were shot down by county commissioners. Instead they pursued a marketing campaign to get more people to license their pets. But sales increased just slightly to 59,527 this year, up from 58,942 in 2008, according to the county auditor's office.
Earlier this week Commissioner David Pepper said he was "torn" on the issue. He doesn't wan to raise fees, but also doesn't think the county should subisdize the kennel fund.
"If we make this change maybe we keep the crime lab open, or keep more deputies on the streets," he said. Both of those services could be in jeopardy next year.
County Auditor Dusty Rhodes, whose office processes the license fees, opposes an increase.
"I don't think there's any way to make these things subsidy-free," he said. "If you raise it fewer people are going to license their dog. The basic question is should just the dog owners have to pay for a service that affects everyone in the county?"
Dog license fees became law in the late 1800s to pay for livestock killed by stray dogs. No similar law exists requiring licensing of cats.
Failure to license a dog is a minor misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100 or more, but the law is often a difficult law to enforce.
