PLACEMENT: Public Hearings
TITLE:
title
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING OF SECTION 9.62. GENERAL ORDINANCES, MARTIN COUNTY CODE TO REQUIRE VETERINARIANS TO REPORT MICROCHIPS AND ELIMINATE SUBMISSION OF DISASTER PLANS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
Veterinarians are required to issue vaccination certificates upon administration of a rabies vaccination to cats or dogs as required by state law. The proposed Ordinance requires veterinarians to report the microchip number of the animal with the certificate, when applicable. This proposed amendment also strikes the requirement that an owner of five of more cats/dogs provide a disaster plan to the Tax Collector.
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DEPARTMENT: Administration
PREPARED BY: Name: Melissa Pietrzyk
Title: Senior Assistant County Attorney
REQUESTED BY: George Stokus, Assistant County Administrator
PRESET:
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
All owners of cats and dogs must, with specific limited exceptions, have their pets vaccinated and licensed. A Martin County license/identification tag can be purchased from participating veterinarian offices, the County’s designated impoundment facility (currently Humane Society) or any branch of the Tax Collector’s office.
Veterinarians are required to issue a vaccination certificate to an owner upon the administration of a rabies vaccination to the animal. If the animal is currently sterilized, the veterinarian is required to issue a sterilization certificate to the owner as well. The owner then takes these two certifications and obtains a license/identification tag from the Tax Collector.
When a veterinarian issues the license/identification tag on behalf of the County, the veterinarian only submits the vaccination certificate to Animal Services.
This amendment would require veterinarians to include a report of the microchip number with the vaccination certificate and sterilization certificate, where applicable, when sending the documents to the Tax Collector.
The costs of the license/identification tags are set by Resolution from the Board. To encourage sterilization and microchips, licensing/identification tags are reduced if an animal is sterilized and are reduced if an animal is microchipped. By including the report of the microchip number on the vaccination certificates, this will expedite the process of issuance and properly charging for the license tags. In addition, a recently issued vaccination certificate accompanied with the microchip number would contain the current owner information; this information can be stored and accessed by Animal Control to assist in quickly locating owners of lost pets who are microchipped. This amendment was approved by the Animal Care and Control Oversight Board on November 6, 2025.
Lastly, this amendment would eliminate the option of an owner of five or more animals provide the Tax Collector with a written plan addressing steps the owner would take in the event of a man-made or natural disaster in exchange for a waiver of licensing fees as to the addition animals beyond the initial five. As previously written the plan was to be used to help the Tax Collector prepare for a man-made or natural disasters. Currently, the Tax Collector is not tasked with overseeing animal care during disasters.
ISSUES:
None
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW:
This is a legislative matter. Legislative decisions are those in which the local government formulates policy rather than applying specific rules to a particular situation. A local government’s approval or denial of an issue in its legislative capacity is typically subject to a fairly debatable standard of review. Fairly debatable means that the government’s action must be upheld if reasonable minds could differ as to the propriety of the decision reached. Decisions subject to the fairly debatable standard of review need only be rationally related to a legitimate public purpose, such as the health, safety, and welfare of the public, to be valid. Given this broad discretion, only decisions that are arbitrary and capricious or illegal are subject to serious legal challenge.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECOMMENDATION
Move that the Board adopt the Ordinance amending Chapter 9, Article 3, Section 9.62, Issuance of animal license/identification tags and vaccination certificates, as proposed.
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
None
FISCAL IMPACT:
RECOMMENDATION
None
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
None
DOCUMENT(S) REQUIRING ACTION:
☐Budget Transfer / Amendment ☐ Chair Letter ☐Contract / Agreement
☐Grant / Application ☐Notice ☒Ordinance ☐Resolution
☐Other: