Mackinac County must determine how it will handle animals abandoned at the animal shelter after hours, because it currently does not provide options, Bob Robinson of the Michigan Department of Agriculture advised county commissioners Thursday, July 22. Concerns about after-hours care for abandoned animals have reached Mr. Robinson's office, and now have commissioners seeking support from the sheriff's office and St. Ignace police. Commissioners are also entertaining the idea of turning over animal shelter operations to an outside firm, as is done in Emmet County.

The county owns the shelter on Cheeseman Road and employs a manager, helper, and animal control officer, while a volunteer group cares for animals housed there longer than 10 days.

“This animal control problem goes back 30 years, maybe,” said the commission's chairperson, Dawn Nelson, during the meeting. “It seems to never get resolved and it seems like the smaller the problem, the bigger it's made... If this doesn't get resolved by the end of the year, we might want to look at dissolving what we've created and do like Emmet [County] and contract it out and be done with it. It seems to be working better there than it is here. Am I right?”

Emmet County's shelter is operating well, said Mr. Robinson. “Things are running pretty smooth there. One of the differences is there is major support in the sheriff's office. The animal control officer works out of the sheriff's office.”

Mackinac County's animal shelter is not the problem, Mr. Robinson said, but the county's after-hours handling of abandoned animals is a concern. Currently, he said, the county offers no solution for animals that are abandoned after hours. Mr. Robinson suggested the county consider a policy and seek assistance from the sheriff's office in handling animals that are dropped off when the shelter is closed, a practice undertaken by most other counties, he said.

Several people in the community raised the after-hours concern to him, said Mr. Robinson. Since then, he has talked with the Sheriff Scott Strait, shelter manager Ginger Valentine, and animal control officer Lori Thompson. Mrs. Valentine and Ms. Thompson attended the commission meeting.

One idea of leaving a locked area with notification that a key could be collected from the sheriff's office is not practical, said commissioners.

“You put the kennel there with a message to go to the sheriff to get the key, put the dog in, and get the key back to the sheriff, that isn't going to happen,” said Commissioner Calvin “Bucky” McPhee. “I can tell you only one in 100 is going to do that. What they will do is tie the dog to the kennel and leave because they are not going to be bothered with running back and forth. I just feel that isn't the answer.”

Now, he said, Ms. Thompson has no response to anyone calling with an animal that needs to be dropped off at the shelter after hours and, with her hours restricted to 35 per week, she is unable to pick up the animal.

The state's concern is how a county handles abandoned animals. Mr. Robinson said he has been advised by several people that the county's way of handling abandoned animals is to tell people to tie them up outside the shelter.

“They virtually, by law, are supposed to have shelter from the time they are under your responsibility,” Mr. Robinson told the county.

Mrs. Nelson contended he had been misled and that is not the county's position.

“I don't know where you got that policy,” she said. “I think that what you have is a verbalization from one or more people, and that isn't accurate.”

Mrs. Valentine said she has worked at the shelter for six years and, during that time, about five dogs were left tied outside the building.

“This is a small town,” she said, “and most people that would take an animal to the shelter and tie it up know me and call me and I go there. I go there at night, anyway. I have never left a dog tied up all night long to a tree.”

The city of St. Ignace has given the county the land for the shelter, and although the commission has not previously asked the city for help, Mrs. Nelson said, it is time to do so.

“We are doing quite a service for the city,” she said. “The county has picked up that responsibility and the reason we did is they donated the land back in 1999. I think now we need to go back and say, 'We need a little help here.'”

The state charges the county with animal control for all townships and cities in the county.

Juvenile Officer

The county is preparing to fill a vacancy created when juvenile officer Mark MacDonald retires at the end of the year. Judge Clayton Graham would like the position to remain salaried, but county commissioners say they need to consider it before they set the pay level. Also, during the commission meeting, commissioners agreed to keep on eye on a deficit that now is higher than last year at this time.

The nature of the juvenile officer job requires salary ranking, Judge Graham told commissioners. The person in the position must be on call and available at any time of the day and night. The juvenile officer's work includes handling cases involving delinquent, abused, or neglected children.

Mr. Graham, who will fill the post, also asked commissioners to set a salary range of $32,000 to $36,000 annually to give him flexibility when hiring. He said the salary paid would be based on work experience.

Commissioners, however, tabled both requests until they meet as a committee to discuss the matter. No committee meeting time was set Thursday.

Mr. MacDonald is paid $41,732.60 a year with a state grant contributing $27,317.04 of it. The state contribution has been pretty stable over the years, Mr. Graham said.

He noted the job needs to be advertised, resumes reviewed, candidates interviewed, possibly twice, and the person hired has to attend training and then pass a juvenile officer's test.

“I'm hoping to make a fairly smooth transition,” he told commissioners.

In a related matter, Judge Graham advised commissioners the Michigan Senate is considering a fee to counties for foster care cases administered by the Department of Human Services. The county could be faced with increasing foster care costs, he said, which, if approved, would affect the county's budget.

Currently, the county budgets $50,000 annually and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians contributes $17,500. The amount covers foster care placement, stays at the tribal juvenile detention center, and long-term treatment placement.

Treasurer's Report

Expenses in the county have increased over last year, said Treasurer Nora Massey. Revenue is received by the county at an uneven pace throughout the year, largely dependent on when tax bills are paid by property owners.

Expenses at certain times of the year outpace revenue, however, expenses through June of this year were $200,000 higher than one year earlier. Expenses were $1.8 million higher than income through the first six months of the year, she said.

The discrepancy can't be attributed to the collection of taxes, she pointed out, but she did not offer any further explanation for it.

“This is something other than taxes,” she noted, with tax bills not sent out until July.

The commission will monitor the balances, said Mrs. Nelson, with the difference becoming a concern if it continues for a few more months.

The county budget is $6.1 million.

Ms. Massey also advised the commission that nine of 10 county parcels were sold during an auction held one day earlier, Wednesday, July 21. The remaining unsold parcel would be offered during the September no-minimum-bid sale, she said.

The proceeds from Wednesday's delinquent tax sale totaled $947,000, said Ms. Massey. Once expenses are accounted for, she estimated about $900,000 would be realized from the sale of the property.

Other Business

A $2,861.25 bill from the county's Web site operator, eChamber Connect, will not be paid until commissioners talk with Scott McKenzie, a company representative.

The bill includes work from April through July for work to rebuild the county's Web site. The site was hacked into earlier this year. In June, Mr. McKenzie admitted the county had old software which allowed someone to enter the site through the event calendar and scramble all of the county's information.

The bill is for time spent to repair the county's site and includes 81.75 hours of work at $35 per hour. It does not include cost for a training session that was held earlier this month. The $6,500 training fee was waived by the company.

Mrs. Tamlyn said she attended the session, but no hands-on experience was offered, only verbal direction was given for department heads to update their information.

Commissioners approved work on the air conditioning units at the courthouse and sheriff's office. The work is estimated to cost more than $3,000.

Cryderman Builders of St. Ignace is expected to begin renovating a storage vault at the courthouse within the next few days, said Mrs. Tamlyn. The company has until Sunday, August 8, to complete the project based on bid requirements. The company bid $7,200 on the project and the commission award- ed the company the work in June.

The ambulance garage on Burdette Street needs three new doors, said Mark Wilk, Allied EMS area manager. He asked the commission to consider replacing them by November and before winter weather conditions arrive. Commissioners agreed they will seek bids and are expected to move the process forward within the next month. The doors are estimated to be about 20 years old and replacements are expected to cost more than $5,000 total.

The commission's next regular meeting is at 4 p.m. Thursday, August 12, in the annex building at the courthouse in St. Ignace.