I am writing to the Citizens of Danville regarding the position of Animal Control Officer that is going to be on your ballots on the upcoming vote.
Please fully consider the information the Danville Board of Selectmen (BOS) are giving you as they try to deny the actual facts and costs associated with this position or level of service you are receiving for your very hard earned money.
In a snapshot, Danville is being “hoodwinked” by the Danville BOS. Is this what you want from your elected officials? First, one of your BOS members is running for this position and is also the one person who put this Article 2013-16 to dissolve the ACO position on the ballot. What justice is there in that? One must wonder how she will manage her time to meet all of her obligations, how well will your animal will be treated, and how long will it take.
Reports now being made available from a Right To Know request whereby 93 of the 185 calls were to the Danville ACO which were handled by Danville Police Officers because the Plaistow Regional ACO was not available. The balance of 92 known calls for the year where handled by the Plaistow Regional ACO at the cost of $21.00 per hour. The important point here is that Danville is not getting the service they pay for. Why should Danville police officers perform the ACO’s job?
If we use the Plaistow Regional ACO, all of the fines you pay to retrieve your animal goes to support the Plaistow Kennel. So how does having a Regional ACO assist Danville financially? We haven’t even addressed the time constraints of a Regional ACO and how and when you can come and pick up your animal.
Last year, the citizens of Danville spoke and made the ACO an elected position; the article was approved 418 to 263. Please keep the ACO a town position.
Mary Bartel
Windham
