SALEM — The board of health discussed proposed updates to the city’s animal ordinance to address the feral cat population in its meeting Monday.

Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey told the board that “there’s been quite a movement to try to deal with the feral cats, so the animal ordinance has reared its head again,” and that the city council was considering partnering with a community group to run a trap, neuter, return (TNR) program which would trap the feral cats, neuter them and dock their ears to minimize re-captures, and return them to a “community caregiver.” Dickey also said the program would screen trapped cats for communicable diseases, with sick cats ethically euthanized to prevent spread.

She said the second phase of these efforts would be to fill the city’s humane officer position, noting that after Sue Davidson retired from the position in 2022 her successor did not hold the position long before resigning and that the city has been unable to fill the position since. However, the city currently has a potential applicant which the council is interested in hiring on an on-call basis for the $7,000 which has continued to be budgeted for the position annually and are asking the health department to take on oversight of the position. Dickey said that in addition to filling the position it has also been proposed to begin requiring cat licenses, and while the fees from those licenses and enforcement would primarily go toward funding the humane officer’s salary, a portion of each sale would go to the health department, noting that the current proposal was $2 per tag.

“What [city council] are asking is that the animal control officer would be under the Salem Health Department. They would give you the additional money to pay her, but she would be under your umbrella because right now you guys are the authority for the dogs and cats,” said Dickey.

Dickey stressed that at the present the matter was still only a proposal and that nothing was set in stone yet, but that she wanted to ensure the board was aware the matter was being discussed. She also stressed that the department’s current personnel would not be responsible for license enforcement and that they would only need to oversee the position.

“It’s an attempt to make a dent in the issue and the hope is you neuter them, and they don’t reproduce or if they’re sick, we get rid of them, and they don’t spread it to other cats because some of these diseases can be spread to humans,” said Dickey.

Health Board President Pro-Tempore Judy Sicilia asked what the department would do if there were issues with the humane officer and Dickey said that the board would vote to remove them like any other department employee. Health Commissioner Kayla Crowl said that she felt the proposal in its current form would not be detrimental to the department.

“With no additional burden, I don’t see a burden with this. I see an additional contact or communication per se, but that’s nothing I don’t already ask [the department’s employees] to do. ‘Oh I got a call about this.’ Well, reach out to this entity about the dogs or the cats, so that’s really no different. I don’t see an issue with that, especially if they’re willing to foot the bill,” said Crowl.

The health board will meet next at 2 p.m. on July 24.