Fiscal Note
The City retains all revenues associated with the licensing of cats; the licensing of dogs, however, is regulated by State Statute and requires that the County retain a portion of all dog-licensing fees to support animal control efforts. For cat licensing, the total number of licenses issued for cats has decreased over the last decade from annual averages of about 1,900 to about 1,400 licenses. In 2013, the City issued a total of 1,357 cat licenses, yielding a total of $19,570 in revenues for the City General Fund. Of the 1,357 licenses issued in 2013, all but 3 were licensed as neutered/spayed. If the proposed license fee structure were in effect for 2013, 3 unspayed/non-neutered licensees would have paid $30 more for each of the licenses issued, generating an additional $90 for the General Fund.
For the licensing of dogs, the City currently retains $6.25 of each license (plus a small processing fee); the remainder of the revenues are allocated to the County and State, as required by State Statute. Unlike the trends with cat licensing, the number of licenses issued for dogs has increased over the last decade, with annual licensing rates increasing from about 9,200 to about 11,300. In 2013, the City issued a total of 11,343 dog licenses yielding a total of $75,511 in revenues for the City General Fund, net of the portion allocated to the County and State. Among the dogs licensed in 2013, 643 were licensed as non-spayed/non-neutered; if the proposed rates were in effect in 2013, additional revenues generated would have been $19,290 ($30x 643 licenses).
It should be noted these projections assume no adverse impact on licensing rates for non-neutered/unspayed animals, and also assume no change in the portion of fees retained by the County.
Title
SUBSTITUTE Amending Sections 9.31(2), (9) and 9.50(2), creating Section 9.50(6) and amending Section 1.08(3)(a) of the Madison General Ordinances to increase the fees for cat and dog licenses, increase...
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