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Niles council acts to protect animals from cold
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
City council, whose primary obsession this year has been Niles’ fiscal emergency, changed its focus Wednesday from the city’s struggling finances to sheltering animals from the cold.
Council unanimously passed an amendment to its animal-cruelty ordinance requiring “animal owners to provide shelter to their animals where a heat or cold advisory or a severe weather warning has been issued.”
“People will either have to bring their animals inside their homes or in a garage,” said Councilman Frank Pezzano, D-1st. “They can’t just leave dogs in a doghouse when it’s bitter cold.”
Pezzano, who is one of two Trumbull County humane officers, said he has worked with the Animal Welfare League to have such ordinances adopted throughout the county.
Pezzano said Warren recently passed a similar animal-protection ordinance.
The amendment cites the responsibility of owners to “provide relief to the animal from the heat, cold or severe weather.” Owners found in violation could “forfeit the animal,” according to language of the ordinance.
As for the city’s financial woes, Mayor Ralph Infante said he has started working on an amended five-year plan required by the state for the city’s recovery from fiscal emergency.
Mayor-elect Thomas Scarnecchia said he plans to meet with the mayor Friday to work on the plan, which Infante has promised to complete by council’s next meeting Dec. 16. Council must approve the plan before it is submitted to the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission in a special meeting Dec. 21.
Meanwhile, Terry Dull, city law director, said the county tax commissioner has approved the city’s plans to transfer $450,000 from dormant funds into the general fund to help the city balance its budget and avert layoffs for the remainder of this year.
Dull said a common pleas judge had indicated tax commissioner approval was mandatory before the court could approve the transfer, which is expected later this month.