Dog Talk; Criminal Justice Subcommittee Recommends New Fee Structure

A subcommittee of the Lenawee County Criminal Justice Committee talked about dog license fees Friday morning.

Prior to May 9th of this year, fees were $10 a year for a dog, altered or not, and the late fee was $20.

A fee schedule passed in May by the Board of Commissioners set the new fees at $15 for altered and $30 for unaltered dogs. Both late fees were still double the original price.

At Wednesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, a 8 to 1 vote reset the prices to the pre May 9th amount.

In the subcommittee meeting, the group recommended a price of $10 for altered, and $15 for unaltered dogs…with late fees doubling the original price. The recommendation was passed unanimously, and will be reviewed the the Criminal Justice Committee at their November 1st meeting.

Ryan Thompson, a local dog breeder, was at the meeting on Friday had this to say to WLEN News about the recommendation…

In documents supplied to the subcommittee, surrounding dog license fees include:

Jackson County: $10 altered/$20 unaltered

Monroe County: $7.50 altered/$15 unaltered

Washtenaw County:$6 altered/$12 unaltered

Hillsdale County: $10 altered/$15 unaltered

Lenawee County fees to not apply to residents of cities and townships that already have dog license fees in place.

When this subcommittee first talked about the animal control ordinance, which includes the fee schedule, they did not recommend fees amounts to the Criminal Justice Committee. The group gave several options to consider.

Tune into our local and state newscasts, anytime day or night, for this story and more.