SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board voted unanimously Wednesday to make the position of Animal Control Officer full-time instead of part-time and transfer it from the jurisdiction of the Health Department to that of the Police Department.
This comes in the wake of increased complaints about animals in the area and a new regulation which forbids dogs from public fields.
Police Chief Ron Madigan explained that the decision was a logical one because the police department already has a lot of overlap with the Animal Control Officer (ACO).
“I think it makes sense,” said Madigan at the Wednesday Select Board meeting of both the shift to full-time and the change in jurisdiction. “Some of these areas that generate dissatisfaction are hard to deal with on a part-time basis.
“The police department serves as a point of contact for the ACO anyway. And the police already work with the ACO on a day-to-day basis.”
Last year, according to Madigan, the police department investigated multiple dog attacks. In September, police responded to calls about a coyote being trapped. They tend to act as the first contact for residents’ animal complaints.
The current ACO, Dan Proulx, will now report to the Police Department full-time, though he will not be considered part of the police union.
A function of the ACO under the police jurisdiction will be to enforce the new Health Department regulation regarding dogs on public fields.
According to the regulation, “no person owning, keeping, or handling a dog within the town of Swampscott shall allow such dog to trespass within a playing field,” even if the dog is leashed.
This refers to basketball courts, tennis courts, cemeteries, playgrounds, and turf fields controlled by the town.
Violators will be punished with a fine of $100 for the first offense, $200 for a second, and $300 for a third or subsequent violation.
Madigan expressed that he was looking forward to working with Proulx.
“I think it’s going to work well,” he said. “I’ve gotten good feedback from the police officers that have worked with him, that he’s a good resource.”
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald described the move as “an important evolution of an important function.”
“It was clear that we were getting more and more calls for service,” said Fitzgerald.
“This is a model that is put in place by a number of communities. We want to have the ACO emulate the same public safety function that we have in our police department.”
