by Dennis Dalman
Dog-owning residents in Sartell no longer have to license their dogs in the city, effective Jan. 13.
The Sartell City Council, after a Jan. 13 public hearing during the council meeting, voted unanimously to strike the license requirement from the city’s animal-control ordinance. The rest of the ordinance will remain in effect except for some fine-tuning of the text in some of its provisions.
In a memo to the council, Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni said that while the city will lose revenue from the dog licensing fees, it will reduce costs by eliminating the license procedure itself. Many years ago, Sartell required the licensing of cats but discontinued the policy. Many cities, Degiovanni noted, have dropped dog license requirements. Sartell doing the same is a fairer approach because there are far more dogs in the city than in the number of them that had been licensed.
Revenue from dog licensing in Sartell totaled about $16,000 annually, Sartell Financial Director Heidi Ostlie told the council. The licensing cost was $15 for a dog that had been spayed or neutered and $30 for one that hadn’t.
Two people spoke at the public hearing. Valerie Raslin said she fosters dogs and/or cats, sometimes taking care of litters of from two to five animals. The ordinance does allow people to keep more than two dogs up to the age of 6 months old, but only two dogs over that age are allowed per single family.
Raslin also expressed concerns about unleashed dogs and the problem of animal waste left by dog owners. The city, she suggested, might consider spending some money to put dog-waste sanitary stations at some areas of Sartell.
Bob Barrett, a former City Council member, said that when he was on the council, its members considered at one time forming a partnership with neighboring cities to deal with concerns about dogs but that nothing came of the idea. Barrett said he is aware of some people in Sartell who turn their dogs loose to run on school playgrounds, presumably when schools are not in session.
A reasonable animal fee should be kept in place, he said, to help pay for waste stations and other expenses to maintain animals in the city.
“We do not want police chasing dogs,” he said. “They (police) have enough trouble with humans, though the dogs are better behaved, I’ll grant you that.”
Barrett also suggested the city could install some dog-waste stations in various places.
The two who spoke at the public hearing were reminded that those who let their dogs run without leashes can be fined, the ordinance states. Stray dogs are brought to the Tri-County Humane Society in St. Cloud by employees of the Sartell Public Works Department. The humane society and city of Sartell have a partnership agreement to that effect.
The following are provisions of the animal control ordinance that pet owners might want to note:
• All dogs and cats must be given rabies vaccinations once they have reached the age of 6 months. A proof of up-to-date rabies vaccinations, provided by a veterinarian as a dated and signed certificate, must be presented to an animal control officer if the pet presents a problem or if the pet bites somebody.
• Dog kennels (commercial ones only) will be allowed only in locations permitted for that use under the city’s zoning and subdivision code.
• All dogs and cats must have some kind of identification on them (collar tags with phone number, rabies tag, implanted I.D. microchips, etc.) so that, if needed, an animal-control officer or someone else is able to contact the owner(s).
