HBay council approves compromise animal control ordinance

By CHRIS PORTER • Daily Tribune Staff

HORSESHOE BAY - Local feral cat advocates are breathing a sigh of relief after the City Council Tuesday approved an animal control ordinance that allows for the continued trapping, neutering and release of stray cats in city neighborhoods.

The ferals won’t have free reign, however: Police Chief Bill Lane said his department will still respond to resident complaints, trapping bothersome animals and sending them to an animal shelter.

The council discussed the ordinance for about 30 minutes at Tuesday’s meeting, where aldermen also approved a property tax rate of 40 cents per $100 of property value.

An earlier draft of the animal control ordinance would have prohibited volunteers from trapping, neutering and releasing feral cats, a practice advocates say has visibly reduced the number of stray cats in the city.

Lane told the council his department’s focus in regards to animal control was squarely on public safety and the property rights of residents. Even so, he said the department is still hoping to treat the feral cats humanely.

“The Police Department will not trap every feral cat in the community. That is not our intention,” Lane said. “We will, however, continue to respond to resident complaints, and trap those animals that we deem to be a danger to public safety.”

Police will work with local non-profit groups, such as Hill Country Cat Control, to find homes for trapped feral cats deemed adoptable. Some would be re-released following sterilization surgery.

That proposal concerned Alderman Jeff Robinson, who shared a story about the recent death of a family cat after a tussle with a feral cat outside.

“I don’t like the idea of re-releasing these animals that were a nuisance in the first place,” he said. “I see no reason to have wild animals, which feral cats are, in our neighborhoods causing situations like the one I experienced.”

Lane said his department wouldn’t allow for the re-release of problem animals, though others trapped without a resident complaint would still be eligible for re-release.

“If we get a complaint on an animal, we’ll trap that animal with the understanding that it will be taken to the shelter, where that process will get started,” Lane said.

In the meantime, local groups like Hill Country Cat Control can continue their trap-neuter-release program.

“Because of the many Horseshoe Bay citizens who have been quietly doing this for years, we already have a far smaller cat population that we otherwise might,” said Adrian James of Horseshoe Bay Cares About The Strays, a local cat advocates’ coalition. “There are numerous (cat) colonies in and around Horseshoe Bay, and in many of them, there have been no new litters of kittens in years.”

The ordinance was drafted by the city’s Lifestyles Committee, a five-member group responsible for researching and writing laws for the city, which was incorporated in 2005.

Two other committee-drafted ordinances dealing with outdoor signs and lighting, were also passed at Tuesday’s meeting.

In other action, the council approved the proposed tax rate of 40 cents per $100 of property value.

The new rate is a 10-cent decrease over last year’s rate, which Mayor Bob Lambert said would result in a $1.25 million reduction in property tax revenue. The difference would be made up with a planned $800,000 increase in utility rates and an estimated $450,000 from a new 1 1/2 percent city sales tax approved by voters in May.

“The tax rate is about a 20 percent reduction,” Lambert said.

The council also approved the Fiscal Year 2008 budget, which calls for the city to spend about $5.3 million during the next year.

According to figures released by City Hall, the city expects to bring in more than $9.9 million in revenue during the next year, leaving the city with an expected fund balance of $4.5 million.

The new budget and tax rate take effect Oct. 1.

The council also formally cancelled the upcoming November council elections since all three candidates are running unopposed.

Lambert and Alderman John Bird will serve their second two-year terms on the council. Newcomer Claudia Haydon will replace Alderwoman Karen Wines.

The next council meeting is set for 3 p.m. Oct. 16 at City Hall, 1 Community Drive.

chris@thepicayune.com

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HBay council approves
compromise animal control ordinance