This goes to Council on the 26th. Time unknown as of this point. It will be in the Aurora Room at City Hall.
 
From Sonya Diaz.our warrior in Denver!
The most important issues that were talked about in the Committee included the fact that Aurora is in a huge budget crunch. THEY DON'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS  BAN! Committee chair, Molly Markert actually said to Animal Care Manager, Pamela Alford something like, "I know I'm asking you to do the impossible with nothing, and I know we don't have the money for this, but I want it anyway." They set the fee at $600 per dog to license a PB. She seems to think that this will pay for the ban. What this will do instead is to keep people from even trying to comply. Regarding the license fee she said, "I don't think the fee is too high. It is a privilege to have a public safety risk in the city, so paying $600 dollars per year, I don't have a problem with."
 
The Committe said it will cost $250,477 to enact the ban on the first year and $183,457 each following year for ongoing costs. The Asst. City Attorney said they cannot just grandfather in dogs that were registered since August 9th, as was previously stated, but will give people 60 days to comply with all their rules if the ban passes. Part of the proposed costs include renting out kennel space to move non banned dogs to a private kennel to be able to make room for the banned dogs.
There are still seventeen breeds on the banned list including American Bulldogs. Please, when you talk about the proposed ban to others, do not call it a Pit Bull ban. It is a 17-breed ban.
 
Below are some more quotes from various people on the Committee.
Councilwoman, Nadine Caldwell, talking about the proposed $500 fine if caught w/a Pit Bull, "We have a $250 fine for fireworks, and they don't bite people."
AC Manager, Pamela Alford, "Anything new we do [the ban] will take away from something else we're doing."
Nadine re: the 60 days from enactment to comply, "[the 60 days] Will give renters a chance to move if they want to."
 
LeeAnn O'Reilly RN,PBMH
Pres.Dog Legislation Council of Canada
president@doglegislationcouncilcanada.org
www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org