IMPORTANT! Chattanooga: City Council Eyes Changes to Charter, Ordinances

Heads up!!!! If you live in Chattanooga or the surrounding areas this is something that you should watch carefully. Make sure that any changes are done fairly. These changes could affect you and your dogs, cats and other animals since they will impact the way that McKamey seizes animals and your right to appeal. Whether you are a kennel club person, a breeder, or just a pet owner, this pertains to you!

If you let the city write whatever they want they will make it easy for McKamey to seize animals and hard to appeal. You see they didn't even have an appeals process in place when they originally wrote the laws regarding McKamey. Pay attention to what they're doing now or you might not be able to get your animals back, or you'd have to spend thousands of $$$$ to try.

Carlotta

City Council Eyes Changes to Charter, Ordinances

October 12, 2010 10:52 PM

Jana Barnello

Recent court cases have exposed problems with the Chattanooga City Charter and city ordinances. Council members are talking about when and how to fix those problems.

Two big stories over the summer showed where city laws and rules aren't what they should be - the Recall Ron movement and the the Pet Company court case. Councilman Andrae McGary asked the rest of the city council at Tuesday's committee meeting to consider going through the charter to make sure they're up to date with the law. It was an idea proposed back when a Hamilton Court Judge ruled that state not city charter recall rules applied to a recall effort of Mayor Ron Littlefield.

"It just raised a lot of questions as to, 'Are there other areas that we may have overlooked that really are not applicable but we think they are?'" McGary said.

Any charter changes would have to be put up for a public vote in 2012. However, McGary's other concern could get addressed much sooner. That concern is with the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center.

When it was created, the city put no appeal process in place for animal businesses that lose their license. A judge's decision to throw out McKamey's case against the Pet Company left taxpayers footing the bill to care for the seized animals. Something that might have been avoided had that appeal process been in place.

"I'm not sure I understand the technicalities of it, but I know to be able to appeal,and what that looks like. That's not currently in our charter and it needs to be," said McGary.

Discussion on both issues will start in the Legal and Legislative committee chaired by Councilman Peter Murphy. Murphy says they'll start with McKamey.

"According to the trial judge - the substitute trial judge - they don't have the power to decide whether McKamey can or cannot hold an animal so there's that problem. We may have to assign it to a board or create a new entity," said Murphy.

Murphy says changes to ordinances involving McKamey could be written and adopted in a few weeks.

Another city law that could see some changes is about chickens, and whether you can own them in the city limits. They'll discuss that next Tuesday with representatives from McKamey.