At the June 16, 2015 Mayor & Council meeting, the governing body appointed Owen Iungerman as a Special Marshal to conduct a 2015 Dog/Cat Canvass.
According to Mayor Carl Hokanson, there have been numerous complaints regarding dogs and cats not being registered and the canvassing will serve as a way to update municipal files.
If an infraction is found, Mayor Hokanson said that either the Marshal or the Borough Clerk will issue a summons and those cited will be given a court date.
According to Roselle Park Borough Code 8-4 (Canvass Of Dogs), the Board of Health of the Borough of Roselle Park is responsible for such canvassing and are to be done annually during January and June. The code reads:
8-4 CANVASS OF DOGS.
The Board of Health of the Borough of Roselle Park shall, during the months of January and July of each year, cause a canvass to be made of all dogs owned or harbored within the Borough and shall report the result, including the names of all persons owning or harboring unlicensed animals to the Borough Clerk. The Police Department shall furnish all necessary Police protection to enable the enforcement official to carry out the provisions of this section. (1980 Code § 100-7)
Borough Code 8-10-1.i. has a different standard for proof of licensing for cats, leaving that up to any health official, police officer, animal control officer or other authorized person.
8-10-1.i.
Proof of licensing shall be produced by any person owning, keeping, maintaining or harboring a cat, upon the request of any Health Official, Police Officer, Animal Control Officer or other authorized person.
The fine, according to Roselle Park Borough Code 8-2.1.b and 8-10.3, is $48 or imprisonment for a term not to exceed 15 days. There are two sections further in the code book, one for each animal, that provide different fines.
For dog owners, Code 8-5 has violators liable from $5 to $50.
8-5 VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES.
a. Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any part of any of the provisions of subsections 8-2.3, 8-2.4 or 8-2.6 or with the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Department of Health governing the sanitary conduct and operation of kennels, pet shops, shelters and pounds, to preserve sanitation therein and prevent the spread of rabies and other diseases of dogs within and from such establishments, shall be liable to a penalty of not less than five ($5.00) dollars nor more than fifty ($50.00) dollars for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the Borough. A person who refuses or neglects to pay forthwith the amount of a judgment rendered against him and the costs and charges incident thereto shall be committed by the court to the County jail for a period not exceeding ten (10) days in the case of the first conviction and, in the case of a conviction for a second, subsequent or continuing violation, for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days.
Cat owners, under Code 8-10.3, have a fine that ranges from $25 to $100.
8-10.3 Violations and Penalties.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person who violates or who fails or refuses to comply with this section shall be liable to a penalty of not less than twenty-five ($25.00) dollars nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars for each offense, to be recovered by and in the name of the local Board of Health or by and in the name of the Borough of Roselle Park. (1980 Code § 88-4)
The fee for licensing/registering a dog is $16.20 for spayed/neutered dogs and $19.20 for those of reproductive age which have not had their “reproductive capacity permanently altered through sterilization”. The twenty cents is to be remitted to the New Jersey Department of Health for the Pilot Clinic Fund. Owners of ‘Seeing Eye and Hearing Ear Dogs’ are exempt from paying any fee.
The amount paid to Mr. Iungerman is not to exceed $700.
Anyone wanting to register a cat or dog should contact Borough Hall at (908) 245-6222.