In the hope of curbing the number of dogs off leash in city parks, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to increase fines for leash- law violations by $50.
With the hope of curbing animal cruelty and neglect, the council also voted to make it illegal to sell animals in any city park, swap meet, sidewalk, street or public right-of-way. Mayor Bob Walkup and Councilwoman Nina Trasoff were absent.
By raising fines, council members said they want to get the message out that it's not legal for dogs to be off leash in any city park, unless it's one of the city's six dog parks.
City Prosecutor Laura Brynwood said upping the fines is the only thing that will dissuade residents from taking off their dog's leash, because she said the worst offenders simply take the chance of getting the current $50 fine. She said the $50 fine isn't cost-prohibitive.
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Final approval, expected later this year, will raise fines from $50 to $100 for the first violation, $100 to $150 for a second offense and from $150 to $200 for a third offense or more.
Kim Janes, manager of the Pima Animal Care Center, said it's tough to catch the owner who lets his dog off its leash.
Since they are low-priority calls, Janes said the Pima County Animal Center rarely responds to complaints in time to catch an owner in the act unless the violation is very close to the location of an agent in the field.
Many of the complaints against residents occur when the person who reports the off-leash dog knows the name and address of the owner, he said. Pima Animal Care Center first sends a warning notice to owners for educational purposes, before sending a citation the second time they are reported.
Councilman Jose Ibarra asked that signs in parks telling owners off-leash dogs are prohibited also have the phone number of the Pima Animal Care Center so residents know how to report violations.
In other business, Councilwoman Carol West asked for a memo from city staff members and a study session discussion on Downtown cameras, to examine how effective similar cameras have been in other cities for deterring crime and whether there were other options to make Downtown safer.
West said she was troubled by an Arizona Daily Star story on Sunday reporting the city had turned down a grant for video cameras Downtown without the council having any public discussion on the issue.
