County closed meeting comment period for Tether Law advocates

PLATTSBURGH | A plea for county lawmakers to enact tethering law in Clinton County has reached an apparent standstill. Animal advocate Jennifer Jewett formed the People's Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) of Clinton County earlier this year to garner support from towns and concerned citizens. She has presented her plea at town and county meetings over the past few years, building support for a county-level animal cruelty law that incorporates tethering regulation. A resolution for public hearing to gather local input on Local Law 4 -- Regulating Outdoor Restraint of Dogs in Clinton County -- was voted down at the county's board meeting last October, despite the absence of two board members. Former Area 8 Legislator Wendell Hughes encouraged the board to "at least listen" to their constituents in a public forum. Resistance from county legislators on the issue appears to stem from the addition of government regulation and questions about enforcement. Lawmakers last October raised concern about lack of definition in the law as written without exception for some circumstances, including training of hunting dogs. Legislator Kevin Randall indicated there were unanswered questions he had with the proposed policy and whether law enforcement would prove viable given staffing constraints. Legislator Patty Waldron asked last fall that they table the public hearing vote until a full board was present. Legislator Hughes pointed out that Clinton County has no law to guide use of tethers or constraining animals on a line in outdoor areas. PAWS has continued to press lawmakers to move forward, and pressure to consider animal cruelty law has mounted public interest. The initiative brought many residents to county legislature meetings over the past few months, most recently to the Public Safety Committee on March 2. On March 12, the county chambers filled to capacity with two sheriff's deputies present to monitor discourse. Despite routine allocation of a five-minute public comment at the start of each meeting, Legislature Chairman Mark Henry asked how many people were interested in speaking. When three people raised their hands, he asked if they were going to talk about the tether law. All said yes, they were. Henry then said the legislature would not allow public comments related to the tether law. He indicated they had heard the concerns spanning over 30 to 40 meetings. "For the dog tether law tonight, we have no resolutions in front of us," Henry said on the county record. "We have no legislation in front of us. We have heard your position dozens of times. "So for tonight, we won't be granting dog tether law the privileges of the floor." Jewett said in a follow-up video of the meeting that she was told beforehand by Henry that no one would be allowed to speak again about tether law in Clinton County. County resident Jesse Murnane was given the floor to address the county's process. "What has concerned me," she said, "is the lack of clear understanding ... to understand what the process is if there is a concerned citizen in your county that feels there needs to be a law to protect, not to govern. "I don't want any law in our government that doesn't need to be there," she said. "Most of the stuff we're looking at is for protection rights. "It needs to make sense how this body, this legislative body, gets a law in front of them: when it's discussed, who's voting on it, why it's allowed (to) a vote with seven or eight people here." She said more concerning than tether law is the lack of understanding of "a clear process." After a few minutes, Henry shortened her time allocation. Usually, members of the public have five minutes to address lawmakers. People in the gallery were decidedly upset with the decision, and mounted a challenge from their seats. Legislator Hall asked the gallery to listen. He said he and Waldron were continuing to work toward holding a public hearing on tether law. "I don't think it's right at all not to hear anybody speak," Hall said. "The public ought to be able to tell me what's going on. I represent you. ... Ms. Waldron and myself are working very hard to get it passed for a public hearing." With closure of the public comment session, most people in the gallery left the meeting chambers. OPEN MEETINGS LAW In referencing Open Meeting Law, Robert Freeman, previous executive director of the state's Committee on Open Government, has advised dozens of times over the past 30 years that "the right to attend meetings of public bodies, such as town boards, is conferred by a statute, the Open Meetings Law." Prior to the enactment of that law, he said, there was no general or constitutional right to attend meetings of those bodies. "Although there is a constitutional right to speak," he wrote, "there is no such right to speak during meetings. Under the Open Meetings Law, it is clear that it provides any member with the right to attend, listen and observe the performance of public officials. "The law is silent, however, with respect to the right of the public to speak or otherwise participate during meetings. "Because that is so, it has been advised that a public body may choose to permit the public to speak at its meetings, but that it is not required to do so. Most public bodies do authorize limited participation by the public, and in those situations, it is suggested that they do so by adopting reasonable rules that treat members of the public equally." Opinions about public comment at public meetings can be found on their website: https://docsopengovernment.dos.ny.gov/coog/otext/o4810.html County lawmakers have not indicated how the proposed Law 4 of 2024 might be further addressed. ............................................... ESSEX COUNTY LAW 3 IN 2016 In nearby Essex County, animal abuse law with legal guidance for tethering was created by a special Animal Cruelty Task Force established in 2012. The law was approved four years later, in 2016. The Animal Cruelty Task Force combined efforts from the district attorney's office, county attorney, the county sheriff's department, local animal rescue personnel, the local animal shelter, veterinarians, supervisors, animal cruelty law advisors and citizens. The initiative was pursued, in part, because animal abuse is often an indicator in domestic abuse cases. The Task Force also sought to provide rescue personnel stronger recourse than filing complaints. The group established a mission statement and pursued legal definition. Their efforts sought to provide improvements for animal control officer training, public education around pet and farm animal wellbeing, and mutual aid agreements for enforcement. They worked to develop county level legislation in accordance with existing state Agriculture and Markets law. Enacted in 2016, the tethering law -- Local Law No. 3 Regulating the Outdoor Restraint of Dogs for the County of Essex -- set regulations, including a four-hour continuous limit for dog tethering and eight hours total throughout a 24-hour period. The law requires a 15-foot line with line weight limits attendant to the dog's weight. The law outlines exception for shelters, boarding facilities, veterinary facilities and municipal kennels. Legal definition also addresses shelter, food and water at the tether location and the law set fines: $500 for any second offense and $1,000 for a third offense, with registration to an animal cruelty database. The law provides definition for canine-specific occupations, such as hunting dog, sled dog and agricultural working dog. It defines specific methods of containment, including "tether" and "dog enclosure." The law is referenced in full in the resolution read into Essex County meeting minutes from Nov. 7, 2016. The information is online. Specific exemption was identified for recreation areas, campgrounds and other facilities with more stringent regulations. Essex County ruled that tethering a dog for less than 15 minutes in a public location would be exempt from the local law.

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County closed meeting comment period for Tether Law advocates

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