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Citizens who attended last week’s meeting of the Mercer County Commission expecting a meaningful discussion about a proposed spay-neuter ordinance left the board room disappointed. The silence of the three elected commissioners on this hot-topic issue was deafening.
Despite an appeal for action by Doris Irwin, a sanitarian with the Mercer County Health Department, the spay-neuter issue was not discussed, or even addressed, by the three commissioners. That’s baffling. And it’s an unfortunate example of ineffective leadership. These three commissioners are elected to serve the public, and to address the concerns of the public. This requires discussion, and meaningful debate. Why didn’t the commissioners even respond to Irwin at last week’s meeting? Why didn’t they give a presentation, or even have a brief discussion, on where the spay-neuter issue stands?
Concerned citizens were at the meeting to hear from their elected leaders. In fact, the tiny commission meeting room was packed to capacity once again with some forced to stand in the back of the room due to a lack of seating. And some who were in attendance told this newspaper they were there to hear the commissioners speak on the spay-neuter issue.
Like it or not, the spay-neuter issue is not going to go away. Attempting to ignore it or brush it aside until after the May primary or November general election won’t work. There is a group of concerned citizens who are adamant in their desire for a spay-neuter ordinance, and there are others who want to ensure that hunters and breeders are excluded from any such ordinance. The commissioners can not ignore these citizens. And these citizens expect to hear from all three commissioners — Jay Mills, Mike Vinciguerra and Joe Coburn — as to where they stand on the proposed ordinance. Last week’s board meeting should have been the place where the commissioners spoke.
When contacted by the Daily Telegraph after the meeting, Vinciguerra said the commission is still researching the possibility for a spay-neuter ordinances. The original ordinance presented to the commission remains tabled, he said.
Vinciguerra said a new ordinance is now under review by Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash. That proposed ordinance would exempt hunters and breeders. He also said that state code limits what the county commission can do as far as a spay-neuter ordinance is concerned. For now, Vinciguerra says the commission is focused on getting stray animals off the streets.
It would have been nice to have heard some of this at the actual board meeting.
It’s time for all three of the commissioners to let the public know where they stand on this issue. Silence is not acceptable.
Mercer County still needs a spay-neuter ordinance. We have people in our county who are not taking proper care of their pets. They are not having them spayed and neutered. Some are allowing their animals to run loose and overpopulate. There are some dogs that are allowed to have litters once or twice a year. And, too often, these puppies grow up to be unwanted or abandoned.
We must get a handle on this problem. A workable spay-neuter ordinance is the best solution.
But we can’t make this happen if our elected leaders aren’t even willing to talk about it at their regular public meetings.
The commissioners must get to work and start talking about a workable spay-neuter ordinance at their next meeting. The public expects nothing less.
Editorials
February 19, 2012
Deafening silence
Spay-neuter issue must be addressed
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