Changes sought for dog ordinance

TUSCUMBIA - An ordinance intended to add more bite to the city's vicious-dog ordinance could come up for vote by the next city council meeting.

The action by the city council comes on the heels of complaints about recent dog bites and concerns from residents about vicious dogs in their neighborhoods.

The ordinance, which still is going through revisions, would require dogs that are deemed vicious to be contained in a pen that has a roof.

"It would require that they must be contained in a way that they cannot escape," Mayor Bill Shoemaker said during Monday's council meeting.

The ordinance also requires the pen be kept sanitary and free from offensive smells.

A dog does not have to have bitten someone to be considered vicious.

The animal could be deemed vicious if it shows a tendency, disposition or propensity to attack. An example would be if an unprovoked dog snaps at people.

It also could be raised to fight or train fighting dogs to be considered vicious.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to pass this at the next council meeting," Shoemaker said. That meeting is Oct. 20.

In other action:

• September expenditures of $914,509 were approved. Those include $458,146 for streetscape and resurfacing projects.
• a proclamation honoring Tuscumbia police officer Steven Higginbotham was approved. Higginbotham, a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves, recently returned from his second tour in Iraq. He presented the police department with an American flag that was flown over his camp in Iraq.
• November was declared National Home Care and Hospice Month.
• the city's street, sanitation and maintenance departments were combined under a single Public Works Department.
• the council agreed to find out whether there is room in the upcoming budget to include a bonus for retired city employees. The bonus would amount to $1 per month that each employee worked in the city.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@TimesDaily.com.