DEMOREST — After further consideration, the Demorest City Council has decided to conduct public hearings on the future of animal control services in the city.
At its meeting Tuesday night, the council voted 3-0 to begin the public hearing process later this month for an amended animal control ordinance. Councilman Jerry Harkness and Councilwoman Florence Wikle were absent, giving Mayor Rick Austin a vote on each issue considered.
"The city is trying to determine at this point where we're going with animal control," Austin said. "We decided tonight to move forward with an animal control ordinance that’s been prepared by our attorney. That will start the amendment process so there will be plenty of public notice and two public hearings regarding that."
Initially, city leaders decided Demorest would begin providing its own animal control services through its police department.
The council learned Tuesday night the city would see increased costs if it opts to provide its own animal control, including a $2,000 annual increase in liability insurance and an additional $1,000 in vehicle insurance for any vehicle used to transport animals.
"At the center of the issue is whether or not the city is going to continue to utilize the county services as they have done in the past," Austin said. "Obviously there was a lapse in the contract between the city and the county and that kind of complicates the issue just a bit. The county responded to another sister city and provided a list, basically an ala carte fee schedule, for them to utilize the county animal shelter."
Austin again stressed that most Demorest residents want to be good neighbors and responsible pet owners, so animal control issues are the exception to the norm.
Still, Austin said city leaders want to hear residents' views on animal control within the city.
"I think the consensus is that we need to have that hearing, we need to get public input on how we're going to administer animal control inside the city limits," Austin said.
Councilman Sean Moore was outspoken with concerns about perceived double taxation for animal control, public safety radio maintenance fees and other issues.
"Obviously much of the discussion that we had tonight was if the unincorporated taxpayers are paying the same tax rate as the citizens inside the city, then how do you discern in your budget what are unincorporated taxes paying for and what are the incorporated taxes paying for? And right now those rates are the same."
Next year, discussions required by the Service Delivery Strategy Act will mean Habersham County officials sit down with those from the seven municipalities to discuss how services will be provided to residents in each jurisdiction.
"I look forward to working with the county commissioners," Austin said. "I look forward to working through the Service Delivery Strategy that we'll have to begin in the month of January of 2017. Hopefully we'll be able to address these issues so that we do what's fair and equitable for the citizens that we represent here in the city of Demorest. Ultimately I would like to see municipalities like ours, but particularly Demorest, to see a reduction in their county millage rate because we as a city are providing many of those services that the county is not having to provide for us. So it becomes arguably an issue of double taxation, and it's one that warrants further consideration and further discussion."
