Over 100 residents came to a countywide town hall meeting about animal control on Monday night. The meeting was called by Saline County Judge Matt Brumley, after a teen girl in an unincorporated area of the county lost her life due to an attack by several dogs, and then there was another dog attack in the city limits of Benton.
Two dozen Saline County residents came to the microphone and shared both their experiences and ideas. One of the residents was Michelle Griffith, the victim of the dog attack on Edison Avenue in Benton on June 20th. Others were there either because their family or animals had been attacked, or because they participate in dog shows, and one speaker is a current Justice of the Peace.
Read more and see the video below, along with the list of resident speakers and their time in the video.
The meeting began with Brumley giving some basic info about the County’s budget. He noted that there is only one animal control officer for the unincorporated areas of Saline County, and no dedicated shelter or place to keep animals temporarily.
Deputy Jack Campbell of the Saline County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is responsible for dealing with vicious dogs only, since there is no place to keep strays.
Judge Brumley pointed to a time coming soon that the current Saline County sales tax will expire. He stated (at 03:57 in the video below) that “Saline County currently has a 3/8 cent sales tax (.375%) that is directed towards our Career Technical Education Center.
“This sales tax has yielded almost $50 million over the last six years. I believe when our books close at the end of June that sales tax will be retired, and soon, Saline County will have no sales tax. It will be back to zero sales tax.
“The closest sales tax – lowest sales tax – I can find in the state of Arkansas is a half a percent sales tax (.05%), other than Monroe County, who also has zero sales tax.”
He explained how the Quorum Court (Justices of the Peace) currently budgets funds toward animal control. Some has been given to two organizations for spay-and-neuter clinics – those are the Saline County Humane Society and Hot Springs Village Animal Welfare League.
Other funding has been allocated for partnerships with the Benton and Bryant Animal Control Departments for when they are needed. And of course some of the funds go toward paying the salary for the SCSO’s animal control officer.
This funding comes from a voluntary tax that Saline County residents pay, along with their property tax. When you go online, in person or by mail to pay your property tax, there’s a box to check that adds $5.00 to your bill, and that money goes directly to fund animal control programs.
According to Judge Brumley, there was an election in 2008 with a question of whether residents wanted a millage increase in order to pay for animal control. Voters answered with a NO vote by almost a 2/3 vote. So then the idea came up for a voluntary tax.
Brumley said that at first, the funding was over $110,000 for a year. But the amount has steadily declined to where it is now – closer to $65,000 for a year. If you’d like to pay that voluntary tax, talk to the Saline County Tax Collector’s Office for details.
See the full video from the Countywide Animal Control Town Hall Meeting below, and the speaker times and names are listed below that.
The following is a list of the audience members who spoke:
15:08 Beverly Fitzpatrick from Hot Springs Village Animal Welfare League.
16:17 – Timothy Henke stated his donkey was fatally attacked by dogs.
19:34 – Shauna McPherson came with ideas for raising funds.
22:30 – Wendy Stuart is a neighbor to where dogs fatally attacked teen girl.
25:50 – Mike Cush breeds AKC show dogs.
27:45 – Maggie Martin has a terrier and is a dog lover.
31:07 – Eric (not sure of last name) his goats were attacked by dogs.
34:45 – Christine Higgins yielded her time to Michelle Griffin.
35:21 – Michelle Griffith was attacked by a dog on Edison Avenue June 20th.
37:37 – Paxton Griffith is Michelle Griffith’s son.
38:50 – Harold Loestcher has taken in 18 stray or dumped dogs in the 45 years he’s lived in Saline County.
39:47 – Judge Brumley interrupts for a point of clarification on the walking trail.
40:30 – Mr. Loestcher continues.
41:30 – Janine Perlman brought a “wish list” for ordinances.
45:12 – Christine Summers has lived in the county since 2003 and has had almost 40 animals dumped at her house.
48:30 – Lawanna Slaughter doesn’t feel safe in her East End neighborhood with people who keep too many dogs and they are “so mean” and “chase everyone.”
51:00 – Not sure of name – goats were attacked by dogs.
54:40 – Lela Chism lives in Shannon Hills
57:03 – Ty Platt carries dog food because they see strays all the time.
59:34 – Diana Angelo is with a rescue group that has sent over 10,000 dogs to northern states.
1:00:58 – Derek Smith – has family that lost a horse to a dog attack.
1:03:20 – Linda Kuntz lives near house where dogs fatally attacked teen girl.
1:06:34 – Stephanie Johnston is a JP on the Quorum Court.
1:08:30 – David Rose is in Hot Springs Village.
1:10:44 – Melissa or Larissa Powell is concerned about dogs attacking children getting off school bus in Bauxite.
1:14:11 – Larry Matthews lives in Sardis and rides a bike, and is concerned about the vicious dog packs.
1:15:26 – Christina [Something] has been a rescuer for years because of the over-population problem.
1:17:50 – County Judge Matt Brumley speaks about Humane Society’s spay/neuter stats over the years, along with Southern Hearts Rescue’s efforts. He then summarized and ended the meeting and talked to individuals.
Browse MySaline’s list of all the events in Saline County, at www.mysaline.com/events.
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