My fellow animal advocates of Collier County, Your elected County Commissioners are about to try an end run on us by eliminating the Domestic Animal Services Advisory Board, the only watchdog oversight there is, protecting our animals from the incompetence of the DAS. The three attachments below, one from Stephen Wright, a concerned local animal advocate, one from a present Advisory Board Member, and a third from a very concerned local animal advocate - pretty much tell the whole story. Theyre looking to find ways to streamline public input. streamline translates into silence and ignore. Input is not the same as accountable and presently DAS is accountable for answers to the DAS Advisory Board. They say they want to eliminate duplication. Duplicated elsewhere in the county?? WHERE?? All of the other advisory boards that they want to dissolve are not even active anymore. DAS is the only active one that is on the list to actually be dissolved. It appears that this was spearheaded by Amanda and the county attorney......this is our opinion from what has been said....... Its obvious that theyre embarrassed by the public scrutiny of the Advisory Board Meetings where the media can report on their misdeeds. They would rather operate under the cloak of e-mails as their forum for open dialog where only the sender has privy to what is being reported. If you can at all swing it, we need you presence at that Commissioners meeting tomorrow at the Collier County Government Building. The topic of dissolving advisory boards isnt on the agenda until later in the day but that could change at any time especially if they think a lot of people will show. Hopefully a lot will show......If you have time maybe you could send an email to rally up some support........Remember - the animals have no voice . . . . . . we are their only voice. Chuck “No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” ~Edmund Burke~ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Stephen Wright [mailto:petfriend247@yahoo] Subject: DAS Advisory Board to end Hello pet lovers! You may not have heard that Collier County Commissioners, particularly commissioners Nance, Henning and Hiller, are keen to reduce the number of advisory boards. There are currently 51 and it looks like 9 are slated for disbanding. DAS Advisory board is one of them. Currently, they plan to do this at the Tuesday, November 12 meeting in the Consent Agenda, item 17b. From what I understand, consent agenda means that if there are no objections, the entire package will be voted on yes or no, most likely yes. If you want to keep the DAS advisory board--or at least postpone its abolishment until there is public input and a suitable replacement for it--then let your county commissioner know before Tuesdays meeting. Contact information is at colliergov.net under the YOUR GOVERNMENT tab, Board of County Commissioners. You can also show up at the meeting and speak. If you wish to view the Boards Agenda for Tuesday, click here. If you are interested in the background to this action by commissioners then view the video of the October 1, BCC workshop in which it was discussed. Click here. Thanks very much, Stephen Wright, Naples -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe / Change Profile Powered by YMLP Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. COLLIER COUNTY - A nearly decade-old animal advocacy board in Collier County could soon be terminated. Collier Countys Animal Services Advisory Board has served as a voice for the abused neglected and less fortunate pets of Southwest Florida. That voice could soon go silent. The board is among a handful of other groups county commissioners will decide whether to terminate by next week. The county says the board is either inactive or unnecessary and is not required by state statute. But board members say they have been instrumental in protecting animals in Collier County. [Its] kind of shocking because I find the committee to be very productive, very active, [and] very helpful in the community, said Michael Simonik, an executive director at the humane society and a member of the board. The most recent ordinance the advisory board helped create just went into effect days ago. Its the result of a disturbing animal neglect case in 2011. Breeder Arthur Perkins was forced to turn in nearly 50 dogs, and even though more than a dozen died, he was never charged or fined. Now breeders in Collier County are required to be licensed. The animals that are abused, you know, theyre just going to continue to suffer like that Chesapeake Retriever that I was telling you about. That dog spent 99 percent of its life in a crate, and thats just going to continue, said board member Dan Martin. On Nov 5, 2013, at 11:02 AM, bibi barrett wrote: Hi everyone, I just caught wind of this information, and was asked to get it out. Sounds like the Collier County Commissioners and DAS are looking to find ways to streamline public input. As many of you are aware, our voices are hardly listened to as it is, especially when in regards to DAS! Below is an excerpt from the email explaining the details. Please share far and wide. I do not think this is a sound move for the plight of the animals in this county. If you agree, please contact the commissioners and let them know this is a bad idea!! The BCC held a workshop on October 1 wherein they reviewed the 51 Advisory Boards that exist throughout the County Manager’s Agency with an eye toward streamlining, combining, and eliminating duplication. In accordance with Board direction, staff is bringing forward a recommendation that seven advisory boards be dissolved. The Animal Services Advisory Board is among them. If this action is approved, please know that DAS leadership is committed to providing an alternative forum for public input. I am envisioning utilizing interactive online tools as well as hosting periodic open houses and town hall meetings. Also, there has been some mention of creating a Public Services Division Advisory Board, which may provide an additional alternative outlet for public input. Maybe I dont see the benefit of this, but I just think this silences us from trying to protect the animals. Relevant email addresses: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Thanks, Bibi
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 00:52:52 +0000
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