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Commissioners mull county animal control officer

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FARMINGTON – Commissioners reviewed a proposal to have the county take over animal control officer duties in five towns Tuesday, requesting additional information prior to making a decision.

Sheriff Scott Nichols has been working on the concept for several months, after the county was approached by a selectman about the difficulties the community was having in hiring an animal control officer. Municipalities are required to have an ACO, who must be certified by the Department of Health and Human Services. Due to the training requirements of the position, and the typically low number of hours a rural community needs, some towns have had trouble filling the mandatory position.

Nichols said that five towns had expressed interest in participating in the pilot project: Industry, Farmington, New Sharon, Avon and Phillips. Additionally, the ACO would be responsible for the unorganized territories of Franklin County.

Nichols suggested a 20-hour per week position. The ACO could schedule calls or visits to review dog licenses, then work on an on-call basis in the contracted towns. Nichols said that the ACO would be trained at the Criminal Justice Academy as a part-time deputy, allowing the ACO to issue summons if necessary.

Farmington had offered to donate some of their ACO equipment, Nichols said. The FCSO had a used pickup truck that could serve as the ACO’s vehicle.

“I think it would be a big help to the towns,” Nichols said.

The contracting towns would pay the county the funds previously allocated for a town-hired ACO. Additionally, the UT budget includes a $10,000 allocation for animal control. Nichols has estimated that the position would cost $20,000 annually.

The concept would be introduced as a one year pilot project, Nichols said.

Commissioners’ reactions to the project were mixed. Commissioner Charlie Webster of Farmington said that he was opposed to the idea, as he saw it as an expansion of government. The part-time position could grow over time, Webster argued, and he didn’t like the idea of a FCSO employee collecting dog licensing fees.

Commissioner Clyde Barker of Strong, a former selectman, said that he felt the sheriff was “on the right track” with his project. Hiring ACOs had become difficult, he noted, and the county could provide that service to the communities.

Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay said that he wanted to review the contracts between the towns and county before committing to any arrangement. He moved to table the issue, with Webster also in favor and Barker opposed.

County Clerk Julie Magoon said that she’d develop a town/county contract for the commissioners to consider.

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22 Comments

  1. This is way too much ground for one part time person to cover. 2 years ago I had a loose pittbull corner my grand champion and I. After calling the town PD x2 who never showed, it took over an hour for the local ACO to show and safely get us out of the situation . TG my neighbor was home. Their son had to shoot a gun off in front of the dog to get me in the house without him attacking us (no one was injured). I see this as one huge step backwards. We will lose our connection we establish and it will become more governmental / institutionalized. The State of Maine already has that well established.

  2. Too big an area to cover well. Each town needs its own ACO as I see it. If I had a porcupine near my or on my porch, I want some one close by to get rid of it as it could be rabid or if a snake gets in the house…there is not time to wait long before something bad could happen. (I did have those 2 things happen to me). People need to know who to call in their town, not out off -like in Stratton- when you might have the problem in Farmington. Not a good idea at all to me.

  3. When the ball gets rolling , it will most likely be a snow ball. Good job Commissioner Webster!

  4. Currently some of the Townships are not covered by an ACO, so for us this would be an improvement. Right now if there is a loose animal we are to deal with it ourselves or call the Sheriff- and they certainly have more important jobs to deal with. However, I do agree, this seems like a large geographical area for a single on-call person(who is likely to have a “real” job, too) to handle.

  5. My understanding about Animal Control Officers, Dorothy, is that they will only deal with “tame” animals, not wild animals, so they would not deal with porcupines or snakes. Maybe this position would be different, though. I don’t know. I have watched North Woods Law and seen the Game Wardens deal with wild animals. Also, maybe some Animal Control Officers deal with wild animals even though it is not really “part of the job.”

  6. I agree with the others regarding time/distance for 1 ACO to cover..not practical nor cost effective. An ACO on a job in Wilton gets called to a problem in Eustis..who pays for the expense of travel time, etc?? We all do…And the towns receiving no service still pay a portion of the ACO’s expenses. We all end up paying more for less actual service. The way it is now, each town pays for only what their town uses… I also agree with Charlie Webster. Govt. has a tendency to take over town affairs when it is not necessary. In the end, it is usually not cost effective as the expenses increase and the service diminishes.

  7. I guess folks don’t realize that “for years” most all the towns county were serviced by “one” person from the Jay area who contracted to be the ACO for numerous towns. He collected money from each of those towns as per each towns negotiation for his mileage, service time, and reimbursements based most likely on the town’s population. So “traveling the county”, was already going on. There has been a crisis since his retirement, but there was also a crisis when he was the only ACO. Part-time employment isn’t going to work. This job is 24/7. The ACO maintains a key to animal shelter and may be called upon in the middle of the night on a weekend or holiday to deliver a stray. And the need for crisis intervention can come at any time. While I commend Sheriff Nichols on his idea, I think the expectations are unrealistic. Every town needs it’s own ACO and the job would probably be best suited to a person on retirement that has the flex in availability looking for extra income. Perhaps a seasoned hunter, trapper type person. The Dept of Agriculture has always proved willing in the past to train individuals for this position. There’s really no easy or quick fix to this one.

  8. too much ground to cover, especially for a part timer! cutting costs here= less service= trying to get out of a mandatory requirement. we all lose… animals, people, time, money- Bad idea!!

  9. In response to the number of towns the retired ACO covered. His territory was small. Wilton had their own and I know there was one out in the New Sharon area for them as well. Timing is key to safety and lives. It was for mine that day. My dog, a well accomplished AKC Grand Champion ranked top 25 in the country, OB titled, Therapy Dog is only here today as a result of my neighbors quick response and not because of the time it took for enforcement to arrive. You put them in a regional position we would definitely be dead if it ever happens again.
    There are always a few who are in favor of change until it directly happens to them and not till then do they realize the implications / lives in danger it created.

  10. i am animal control in new vineyard, this wont’ work it is not cost effective a lot of small towns have small budgets. if officers are needed in other towns, they should ask neighboring town to use their officer. i only work when i am called. i receive an hourly rate and mileage lot cheaper then what your purposing. the towns also pay the shelter a yearly fee, is the county paying for this? i use my own car. What ‘s this? who’s paying for using the truck? maintence, gas, insurance, etc. more hidden cost.

    just a note: I only received 5 or 6 calls this year, and currently working on dog licensing no big deal or time consuming. We do not work with all animals just those that are considered domestic dogs, cats, horses, cows, etc. all others are referred to game warden.

    who would be hired for this position?

  11. I’m a ADC agent for the state and I get referrals from ACO because they do not handle wildlife. That’s ok with me. If the pay was alot better with benifits I would apply for an ACO position.

  12. Can people stop to understand that this is a Pilot Program? I think that this is an innovative idea that is worth a try. If it doesn’t work then we can stop it and return it to the status quo. I feel that this has a good opportunity to work and we should give it a chance as our current situation is not good.

    I do believe that the right person needs to be hired to this position for it to work.

  13. To what extent would it have to go to before the “Pilot Program” would be stopped? Bodily injury or worse,death? I feel there is too much at risk. There is a long history of “Pilot Programs” started with the full intent of continuing regardless, generally speaking. The word “Pilot Program” is just a way to ease people into the change. JMO

  14. Just for those who doubt me, he (ACO) did come when I called but what he did do I do not remember exactly, except for the snake. He rattled around the radiators and made a lot of noise in the house to “scare” it out. There were a lot of kids around then in the community. I was afraid the porcupine might be rabid. We all just left it alone as he said to do. Eventually it went off. Thanks for educating me anyway.

  15. how many things start out as pilot programs and become the rule. just think of some of uout temp. taxes that never stopped

  16. In my own experience….my son has been bitten once by our neighbors dog. An ACO was called, came by, checked on the bite (which scarred my sons leg), made sure the dog was up-to-date on shots, and warned the neighbor to keep the dog inside or leashed. Since this incident, my son and other neighborhood children have been chased repeatedly by this same dog. The ACO has been informed many times, but nothing has been done. So my question is….What exactly is the job(s) of ACO’s? NO matter…they won’t receive another call from me…I will handle any future situation on my own!!

  17. This is a gut wrenching,soul killing job that is vastly underpaid. What would you do,”just saying”?

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