(A) Generally. The Bureau shall charge and collect fees from owners or possessors who redeem their animals. The following services and fees for those services are hereby authorized.
(1) The Town Manager or his or her designee shall have the authority to establish a fee schedule for the following services and categories.
(a) Impounding. Any animal that is taken into custody by the Bureau pursuant to this code or state statute.
(b) Boarding. Dog per day, cat per day, large animals (e.g., equines, bovines, sheep, goat, swine and the like) per day, small animals (e.g., rabbits, birds, poultry, hamsters and the like) per day. Any animal not deemed to fit in a particular enumerated category shall be considered a large animal.
(c) Adoption. Large animals; dog, puppy, cat or other small animal; pick up a special service fee; replacement fee for metal tags.
(d) Electronic tagging. The Bureau is hereby authorized to, and may without the consent of the animal's owner or possessor, humanely implant any animal lawfully impounded with an electronic tagging device similar to a micro-chip that will allow the animal to be positively identified. The cost shall be deferred by the owner or possessor prior to the animal being released back into his or her custody.
(2) The fees shall be reviewed annually, and the Town Administrator or his or her designee is authorized to make any adjustments in the fees as deemed appropriate. The Town Administrator or his or her designee shall have the authority to establish animal categories and to set escalating impoundment fees for animals for recurring violations by the same owner. An accurate copy of the fee schedule shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the office of the Animal Control Bureau, and a copy shall also be filed with the Town Clerk's office.
(3) The fees in this section do not include applicable charges for any license or inoculation that may be required by this chapter or other applicable law. If the animal to be redeemed is not licensed, permitted or inoculated as required by law, the owner must have the dog or cat inoculated and obtain a proper license or permit before release of the animal.
(4) No fees whatsoever shall be charged or collected on any animal which has been unlawfully impounded. Any such animal shall immediately be delivered upon demand to the owner or person entitled to the custody of the animal. If the owner of a dog or cat pays for spay/neuter services for that person's animal impounded by the Bureau before the release of the animal to the owner, the owner shall not be charged any redemption fees, including the impounding fee but excluding the electronic tagging fee, as stated in this division (A).
(B) Adoption requires animal spay/neuter surgery. The adoption of an animal shall be a conditional purchase. In addition to the adoption fees stated in division (A) of this section, the purchaser of a dog/puppy, cat/kitten or rabbit at the animal control shelter shall pay the cost of spay/neuter services, as provided in § 90.076, for the adopted animal. The payment for the spay/neuter services shall be made at the time the person selects an animal for adoption and shall be nonrefundable. An animal that is immediately eligible for surgery shall not be released to the new owner until the surgery has been completed and medical authorization to release the animal has been given. If the animal is not immediately eligible for spay/neuter surgery, the new owner shall enter into a contractual agreement to present the animal for surgery on a specific date and at a specific time determined by the Bureau. If a person adopts an animal and fails to return with the animal for the appointment for spay/neuter services, that person shall forfeit the money paid for the surgery effective upon the scheduled date of the surgery, and the person shall be in violation of this section for failure to comply with that condition of purchasing the animal. Further, the purchaser shall consent to the animal control shelter's right to seize the animal unless the purchaser immediately presents the animal for surgery at the spay/neuter clinic or can provide proof satisfactory to the Animal Control Bureau that the surgery has been performed by another veterinary clinic. If the animal control shelter seizes the animal upon the premises of the owner, the appropriate warrant for seizure shall be required.
(C) Refunds. The Bureau Manager shall have the discretionary authority to grant a refund of money paid pursuant to this section for the cost of spay/neuter services when the animal has died before the services can be performed or if it is subsequently determined that the surgery is unnecessary or inappropriate or for some other exceptional reason which would make it unjust for the town to retain the cost for the spay/neuter services paid to the town, and a refund would be appropriate. This is discretionary authority for the Bureau Manager; the Bureau Manager may decline to exercise that authority for any reason whatsoever. If this discretionary authority is exercised, the Finance Department will be authorized, pursuant to a written memorandum from the Bureau Manager to the Director of the Finance Department, to refund the money with whatever appropriate documentation is required by the Finance Department. If the discretionary authority is not exercised by the Bureau Manager or if an individual remains dissatisfied with the decision of the Bureau Manager, the individual must file a notice of claim with the office of the Town Manager for any further review of such a request.
(1995 Code, § 10-117) (Ord. 2005-02, passed - -2005)