Animal Services To Open On Saturdays

Hernando County Animal Services will once again be open for business on Saturdays starting in January.

The county commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to cut a code enforcement officer position and shift the funds to the animal services budget to hire a kennel worker.

That will allow the department, located at 19450 Oliver St. in Brooksville, to restore its 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday hours, interim Code Enforcement Director Mark Caskie told the commission.

The money will also be used to fund the county's spay and neuter rebate program, which had been snipped from the budget this year.

"I think people who want animal services to be open six days a week are going to be grateful," Commissioner Jeff Stabins said.

A code enforcement officer at the top of the pay scale recently retired. Caskie suggested using the $57,000 the position cost the county in salary, benefits and equipment and pay to replace a kennel worker who recently retired.

The money saved also would cover the $15,000 cost of the free spay and neuter program for the animals of county residents.

"We played and stretched and tugged on the money," Caskie said. "The only option we came up with was to cut code enforcement officer."

The commission voted last month to close the shelter on Saturdays at Caskie's recommendation, but asked him to take another look at ways to restore the service.

Visitor counts indicate Saturday is the shelter's busiest day on a visitor-per-hour basis. An average of 125 visitors come to the shelter each weekday, or 15.6 people per hour. On Saturdays, 80 people visit during the 4.5 hours. That's 17.8 visitors per hour.

Caskie noted he and his staff have trimmed a combined $480,000 from the code enforcement and animal services budget since last fiscal year.

County will continue to pay for mowing at vacant homes

The county will continue to mow the unruly lawns of vacant homes in foreclosure.

The commission gave Caskie's department the go-ahead to cut the grass even though the county might never get reimbursed for what it pays a contractor, which is usually $35 for the average size property, Caskie said. The county puts liens on the properties, but often those are not recoverable, he said.

The county had set aside $5,000 for the task and has $2,200 left. Caskie said his department would prioritize the long list of neglected properties, tackling the worst ones first.

The grass can be as high as four feet, he said.

County Administrator David Hamilton recommended the county spring for the mowing "to step forward for the public good."

"There is a timeline when there simply is nobody else but government to intervene," he said. Commissioners agreed.

Commissioner Diane Rowden said tall grass usually brings "snakes, rodents...and (declining) property values."

"Our responsibility is the health, safety and welfare of our citizens," Rowden said.