NUISANCE OFFICER CONSIDERED FOR CAPE GIRARDEAU COUNTY, JACKSON

Cape Girardeau County and Jackson are considering employment of a nuisance officer whose primary duty would be animal control.

The county has been discussing the need for a nuisance officer for a year and a half.

"What we're considering is for Jackson and the county to jointly fund a nuisance officer for one year," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said Monday. "We will track and see what calls this person responds to."

Neither the county nor Jackson has an animal-control officer.

Steve Wilson, Jackson administrator, said: "This is a proposal that has been informally discussed for some time. We both know we have a need for this kind of service. We both think any arrangement would probably be fairly short lived."

The number of calls concerning nuisance animals seems to be on the rise, Wilson said.

"It's just a matter of time before both the city and county will likely need their own officers," Wilson said.

A cooperative arrangement would bring a person to the position more quickly, he said.

Jones agreed: "Maybe down the road we will both need a person. We could use this year to see where this person goes and what the needs are," Jones said.

Cape Girardeau County previously drafted an ordinance concerning nuisance animals as part of an overall plan for nuisance abatement in the county. However, the proposal never got past that stage.

"Somewhere along the line we kind of got off track," Jones said.

Dealing with nuisance animals is just the beginning, he said.

"We're not talking about a dog catcher here," Jones said. "Down the road we're talking about nuisance abatement, trash and junked cars on the highway and things like that."

Details of the ordinance haven't been drafted and nothing has been approved.

"We have to be careful how we word this thing," said Associate Commissioner Larry Bock.

"We want something we can live with," said Associate Commissioner Max Stovall.