Fort Mitchell has heard complaints and concerns on the topic of vicious dog penalties in the city over the past few months.
In February, the city first read the proposed Ordinance 2023-04, which would change the penalty for animal-related offenses within the city. After proposing the ordinance, the city of Fort Mitchell took calls from concerned citizens, and implemented relevant changes to the proposed ordinance.
At the March Fort Mitchell City Council meeting, city attorney Olivia Amlung presented the first reading of the revised version of the proposed ordinance. The ordinance now only proposes changes to vicious animal offenses. The previous version put forward changes to penalties for all animal-related offenses. City administrator Edwin King explained why the city changed the scope of the new ordinance.
“So you may recall from the last first reading of the ordinance, what we did is we amended the fines for a dog that might get loose and or be considered a vicious dog under the ordinance. However, after receiving some phone calls on this from residents, what we decided to do was revert back to the old fines for, let’s say a dog might go out and run out the front door. That person would not be penalized for the $200 fine, and only make the $200 fine apply to the vicious animal provision of the ordinance,” King said.
Amlung explained that this particular change has nothing to do with what qualifies as a “vicious animal.” She says that is already defined under a section of the ordinance. That section defines a vicious animal as those “which threaten the safety and pleasantness of streets, parks, sidewalks, yards and all areas of the city and lack of knowledge or lack of intent is not a defense to a violation thereof.”
“What we’re amending here is only the penalties provision, which is why all of the text you see only talks about, well, this is what happens if you violate one of the above subsections,” she said.
King later expanded on this, saying “If a dog bites someone today, without the proposed ordinance in place, the dog owner will still be issued a citation and have to pay a fine. The new ordinance just changes that fine amount.”
So what is the same since the last reading of the ordinance?
First, penalties are being raised, which is what some Fort Mitchell citizens have been asking for.
Next, there is a new notification provision which is clearly laid out in this revised version.
Mayor Jude Hehman said one of the changes he appreciated was that if the owner of a vicious animal were to live in a rental property, the landlord would be notified of the offense. This could serve as a deterrent to committing such offenses.
What’s changed since the last reading?
As stated above, the city is proposing raised penalties, but only for animals that are off-leash and physically harm another person or animal. King told LINK nky, “If a dog gets loose and attacks someone, the fine would be $200 under the new ordinance. If a dog is just loose, but does not harm anyone, existing law would apply.”
Upon refocusing the ordinance to specifically vicious animals, the city felt it necessary to address whether this ordinance would identify any dog breeds as more vicious. They declined to do so.
The ordinance received support from citizens like Steve McClimon, a representative of Fort Mitchell Place, who read a statement supporting the ordinance at the meeting.
McClimon spoke about repeated issues in his neighborhood with a local “pitbull mix” attacking dogs and people. He was concerned that these events have not been taken seriously enough by local agencies. McClimon says that Fort Mitchell Place residents have called Kenton County Animal Control and the local police before but that they have not taken action and that residents have stopped reporting the incidents as a result.
Sara Sgantas, communications manager for Kenton County Administration explained for LINK nky the process of reporting an animal attack and deeming an animal as vicious.
“The initial step, first and foremost, would be to call dispatch to have an officer come to the scene and file a report. On whether or not an animal would be seized and the owner fined/cited for a bite would be on a case-by-case basis as several factors would be considered. This could be done by an Animal Control Officer or a police officer.”
Sgantas told LINK nky that Kenton County Animal Control cannot do anything about a vicious dog attack or other animal-related offense if they are not called to the scene or alerted to the situation. They must have documentation to go forward with any action.