LAKEPORT ? Dog owners inside Lakeport city limits will pay the same licensing fees charged throughout the county after the Lakeport City Council raised its fees Tuesday.
Lakeport”s fees were raised from $3 per spayed or neutered dog and $10 per unaltered dog to $10 per altered dog and $50 per unaltered dog. The fees now match what dog owners pay to license dogs in Clearlake and in the unincorporated areas of the county. The fee increase goes into effect when the city gets its database up and running, according to Interim City Manager Kevin Burke.
“We expect to start licensing in the next few months,” Burke said.
The fees generate revenue to support Lakeport”s burgeoning animal control department, according to Burke. The Lakeport Police Department absorbed animal control duties after the city did not renew its contract with Lake County Animal Care and Control (LCACC) earlier this year. Burke said he is still getting a handle on the cash flow the city needs to run its own animal care and control operations.
“These are untested waters for the city. Having never run animal control before, we are finding out what the budget picture looks like for a program like this as we go through the year,” Burke said.
The LCACC collected approximately $1,500 annually in licensing fees on the city”s behalf before Lakeport canceled its contract, according to Burke.
“We expect to get at least three times that amount ? somewhere in the neighborhood of $5,000,” Burke said.
Lakeport has charged less than a third of what the City of Clearlake and LCACC charged in the rest of the county for dog licensing for approximately five years, according to LCACC Director Denise Johnson. Clearlake and LCACC raised the fees to the current rate in their jurisdictions in response to the rising cost of doing business, according to Johnson.
“The cost of processing and the staff cost went up, but the fees were never raised from what existed in 1974,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she sent proposals to the two cities at the time, and the Lakeport City Council voted to keep the city”s fees at the old rate set in 1974.
Johnson said the county charges $25 for unaltered dogs that are exempt from licensing requirements, and added a $50 charge for unaltered dogs that are not exempt approximately two years ago. Burke said the city will charge $10 for exempt dogs.
As for what the animal control operations costs the city”s police department in terms of officers” time spent on calls, Burke said he could not estimate a percentage.
“It varies between 30 to 40 calls a month. We might get one a day or two a day, then we might not get any calls for a couple of days. It”s been unpredictable and sporadic,” Burke said.
Burke said efforts to raise funds for the city”s animal control operations are ongoing.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
