1. Background

Staff and Structure: The County Commissioners supervise and administer this program. It employs three regional dog officers (North and Central is now done by one person), who enforce various laws pertaining to dogs. The dog officers are Peter Wheeler and Martin Clark.

This program is also supported by the Commissioners' staff. They provide the majority of the administrative support, including processing the group purchase licenses by towns and cities, processing claims for personal injury and property damages, assisting the treasurer in administering the dog fund, answering phones, drafting letters, sending and receiving mail, acting as liaison between the program, the dog officers, towns, cities, and public, recording minutes of meetings, and providing all bookkeeping services. The County Treasurer's office also provides support in relation to bookkeeping and accounting for the Dog Fund, payroll, and payment of bills.

Service: The County Commissioners and their staff are charged with the administration and execution of certain of the state laws pertaining to dogs and the Dog Fund. The Dog Fund is a relatively elaborate state statutory creation that includes the fees, fines, and reimbursements collected in connection with the licensing of dogs and the enforcement of certain of the laws pertaining to dogs. See MGL, Chapter 140, Section 136A-175 et seq.

The County Commissioners may also establish rules and regulations relative to the regulation of dogs. See MGL, Chapter 140, Section 136A-175 et seq. The regional dog officers are charged with enforcing these and the State laws relating to dogs.

There are four overarching aspects to this program. The first involves the Commissioners' staff annually working with each town or city that is a member of the Dog Fund to (a) determine the number of licenses to request for the upcoming year, (b) receive orders for licenses from such towns, (c) collectively place the towns' orders with the ordering agent, and (d) receive and distribute such licenses to the requesting towns.

Second, in conjunction with the County Treasurer's Office, as required by state statute, the Commissioners' staff collects and distributes license fees with regard to the Dog Fund, in accordance with state laws.

Third, the Commissioners and their staff are charged with processing and deciding whether to grant or deny, based on state and local laws and regulations, claims made by the public and the dog officers for payment from the Dog Fund. The damages and reimbursements for which such claims may be made are specifically enumerated in the state statutes, and generally include personal and property damage caused by dogs. Claims may also be made under certain statutory conditions for care provided to dogs and for costs incurred to take the life of a dog.

Forth, the dog officers assist town and city dog officers with problematic dogs and other situations and provide other assistance when necessary. Also, when a town or city does not have a dog officer the county dog officer fills that role.

It should be noted that the State statutory scheme of "Laws Relating to Dogs," MGL, Chapter 140, Section 136A-175 et seq., appears to be ambiguous in regard to the extent to which the County government's role in regulating dogs and the Dog Fund is mandatory. For example, compare sections 147, 147B, 151, 165, and 172.

2. Actual Service Usage

There are a number of ways to gauge the actual service usage with regard to this program. First, for the last five years the same twenty-five towns and cities have participated in the Dog Fund. The only towns or cities that have not participated during that time period are: Clarksburg, Dalton, Lenox, New Marlborough, N. Adams, Pittsfield, and Washington.

Second, in the last three fiscal years the Commissioners and their staff have processed the following numbers of claims made for payment out of the Dog Fund: 1999 = 30; 1998 = 52; 1997 = 39.

Third, it is also important to note that in the 1997 survey conducted by the Berkshire County Task Force thirteen towns or cities supported the services provided by this program. County records indicated in 1997 that twenty-seven of the towns and cities had participated in this program.

3. Service Costs and Funding

Aside from the administrative and supervisory support provided by the County Commissioners' Staff and the County Treasurer's Office, this program is presently self-supporting. Compensation for the dog officers and other direct costs of this program are paid for out of the Dog Fund. For fiscal year 1999, like all preceding years, the dog officers' salaries were the greatest cost of this program. For fiscal year 1999 such salaries totaled $7,052.04.

A reasonable estimate of the total time the Commissioners' staff spends per year performing the services described above equals 140 hours. The County Treasurer's Office spends approximately 260 hours per year performing the services described above.

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