WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) -- A number of issues involving the ongoing discussion on how to handle stray cats in Wausau came before the city's public health and safety committee Monday night.
The committee started off by recommending against dropping the use of the PetData program to licenses the city's animals. Finance director May Anne Groat says they won't be changing over from PetData for 2015 but they'll be looking at alternatives. "We pay about $3.90 per license whether the city of Wausau does the transaction on the behalf of the owner or they process it. When you add it all up it's about 22 to 24 thousand dollars per year." She says the city will be looking at alternatives including coding its own records program in the later half of the year, but that it's too soon to switch over now.
The committee also recommended against switching over to a city run cat impoundment program because there's not enough time to implement it. The proposal would have the Wausau police department house stray and feral cats for the statutory seven days before offering them out for adoption before euthanizing them. Police lieutenant Matt Barnes says the department would need to spend officer hours on running the cat shelter if the idea goes through. "We do have a humane officer who's available 5 days a week. But there's 7 days in a week so we'd have to have additional staff to deal with those cats on weekend days for example. There'd be some significant logistical issues to resolve." Committee members will be asking the city to resume negotiations with the Humane Society to pick up next year's contract.
Also off the table for now is a Trap Neuter Release program for Wausau. Public health and safety chair Lisa Rasmussen says that a great number of city ordinances would have to be changed or relaxed to accommodate for the TNR programs and there's no one in place to take up the program in the community. "We have not seen an organization that's got a structured plan for implementation as far as how this plan would work and where these animals would be released. So we did not put forth the legal resources and the staff time to start creating enabling ordinances because there is no group."
Humane Society of Marathon County board president Linda Berna-Karger says it's not the shelter's position to create a TNR group but they'd be happy to help one that comes forward with a plan. "We are supportive of trap neuter return programs, but we not in a position where we would actually operate and design that program ourselves."
The committee also recommended against raising the cost of cat licenses next year with the premise that it would only be punishing those who are taking the legal route of actually registering their cats with the city.
All of the recommendations will be going before the full council next month.