Colbert County Animal Shelter Truths - Part I

In the first of our series on the Colbert County Animal Shelter, we'll look at the animal control officers. These officers have absolutely no input on budget matters. They can't go into the shelter's offices and randomly pull paperwork to be distributed to those who ask for budgets, payroll records, etc. That should be obvious to anyone with the proverbial lick of sense. So don't blame an animal control officer if he or she can't hand you a copy of the shelter's budget on a moment's notice.

The animal control officers themselves? Colbert County has two to cover an area of 589 square miles. If you think that makes them spread thin, there's still more.

Many consider this a taboo subject, but here goes. Men and women are different (surprised, aren't you?). Take this scenario: A man's wife leaves him for the new and improved model, he loses his job, and the motor blows up in his truck. Getting drunk seems like a good idea to him, and once drunk, setting his dog on fire seems like an even better idea. It's almost midnight when the call comes in to authorities. Whom do they send?

If you've already surmised that the female animal control officer isn't used on night calls and even some day calls, you're absolutely right. That leaves Officer Anthony Wilbanks the main enforcer in Colbert County. In case you're thinking the shelter should hire more certified officers, where is the money coming from? Certainly donations are fantastic, but a budget can't be formulated on pie in the sky...certainly not the part devoted to employee salaries.

Both Charles Hovater and Tommy Barnes should be ashamed of themselves for ever suggesting donations can keep the shelter running. If that's the case, why don't they make all Colbert County fees and taxes strictly optional? 

How about it, Commissioner Hovater and Commissioner Barnes?