FULTON, NY – At the regular meeting of the Fulton City Council held Tuesday (April 5), the council submitted two public requests.
One request was to schedule a public hearing to amend current law regarding dog seizure. The other request was to receive sealed bids for a residential property within the city.
The council advertised for a public hearing to be held in proposal to amend the current law in Subsection 57-8 of City Code entitled “Seizure of Dogs”
Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. explained that the city is specifically required by the agriculture market law to have a dog control officer, separate from an animal control officer.
Currently, any dogs that are seized in the city of Fulton are transported to the pound in Oswego or are able to be picked up if the owner is able to contact the city before the animal is transported.
In the latter circumstance, the city does not charge a seizure fee if the dog is retrieved by the owner in a reasonable time frame.
“Right now, we bring the dogs to the pound in Oswego and those charges add up,” Woodward said.
However, he Department of Agriculture and Market is now requiring that the city charge a fee of $10 each time a dog is seized by city authority in order to comply with law, even if the dog is retrieved before being transported to the pound.
“It’s one of those irritating things that we don’t want to do, but we have to do,” said Woodward.
A public hearing has been scheduled for the matter to be held on April 19 following the public comment section of the regular council meeting held at the Municipal Building located at 141 S. Fourth St., starting at 7 p.m.
The council also advertised the request for sealed bids to be submitted for the residential property located at 358 S. Sixth St.
The bids should be submitted to the City Clerk-Chamberlain’s office located in the Municipal Building on or before April 18 at 2 p.m.
The residence was obtained by the city through tax foreclosure and is one of many residential foreclosed properties throughout the city that the Common Council has aimed to restore through market sale, demolition or RFP.
Their efforts have proven successful as two other single family homes were approved for RFP by vote of the council the same night to add to the list of numerous other foreclosed properties restored to the tax roll so far this year.
The council will bring the proposal for vote at the regular meeting held the following day, April 19.
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Returning foreclosed properties to the tax rolls on the surface appears to be a good thing. The question to ask is will they become eyesores,non-owner occupied rental properties or will they be owner occupied single family homes that would be an asset to the neighborhood. Two of the properties sold at Tues. meeting were scheduled to be demolished and if they aren’t they may cause us to loose good taxpaying families. They should have been held on to and given to the new Oswego County Landband. The total sales were about 6 or 7 thousand dollars. The tax money we will gain maybe lost to the cost of Policing the area after they are rented out. Looking at the entire picture far out weighs the short term gains. Neighborhood taxpayers views and values should far out weigh those of absentee landlords. Those are the things that make people want to live here. Those factors were used for a house here in the 4th ward. Thank Mr. Mayor and Mr. Myers. If you have a problem with a house being sold in your area. Call the Mayor , Common Councilor & your County Legislator.