With full time Dog Control Officer Jean Karn unable to work and out with a serious back problem to ensure that there is effective oversight of the Department in the short term until the full time Dog Control Officer is able to return to work, the Town Board approved a resolution that assigns full time Assistant Dog Control Officer Elizabeth Bertozzi to provide Department oversight on a temporary basis. Bertozzi will be compensated during this temporary assignment on step at 85% of the $51,511.00 salary.
If no board report was presented on this resolution prior to public comment on the pre-filed resolutions, I asked an individual to address the board in my name to ask the following questions for clarification:
Chowaniec: With the full-time Dog Control Officer out temporarily, what does that leave in staffing (full-time and part-time) and the number of hours of coverage to manage the operation. I understand it is only Elizabeth from Monday through Friday and two part-timers on the weekend, four hours each. 43 hours of coverage in a 168-hour week.
Dog Control Committee Chair Mark Burkard: Elizabeth will be taking over for Jean while she is out. With Captain (Police) Gummo, we are working on that. We have two part-timers working on the weekend as well.
Chowaniec: Who attends to the dogs after the first shift (from Monday through Friday) when the sole full-time DCO ends her shift? When Elizabeth leaves at 3:30 pm, who takes care of the dogs until 7:30 am the following morning?
Burkard: We have two part-timers on the weekend.
Chowaniec: No, during the week, when Elizabeth is the only one working. By law the dogs need to be attended to.
Burkard: We do have, if I recall, Captain Gummo or one of the police will come in. It’s the same that’s always been done. It’s not changing anything, but we are one person short.
Chowaniec: Has the requested tasks by Ag & Markets been completed, the project closed out, and the town received the $229,000 Animal Companion grant money for the new dog shelter?
Burkard: It hasn’t been fully completed yet. They tried to get in to fix the floors again. We are full, over capacity (with dogs). Tonight there’s a resolution, in conjunction with the SPCA that they will be able to take dogs from us. There are sweethearts (6) in our kennels that need adoption. Unfortunately with Covid people got dogs, didn’t treat them right, they may have been a little hyper, they go to work, come home and the dogs may have destroyed some things. Now they don’t want them. They let them out of their house; they don’t want them anymore. There are some sweet dogs there. If we can get the adopted that will help free things up.
Comments
Things are not the way they always were. Ms. Karn has been out nearly two weeks. In that interim Ms. Bertozzi has been working solo from Monday through Friday, overwhelmed attending to the dogs, cleaning the kennels, and attending to the daily operations and required managerial tasks.
If Captain Gummo or other police will attend to the dogs off-shift, that hasn’t happened yet. The two weekend part-timers work but four hours each. Currently, the dogs are being attended to only 43 hours of the 168-hour week.
DCO Karn put in for a third full-time Assistant DCO that would have covered the second shift but had no applications – not for $16/hr. and the risks involved. Supervisor Ruffino has repeatedly declared the department is overstaffed and spending too much money.
Mr. Burkard speaks of his second resolution, an arrangement with the SPCA that could result in the adoption of 6 dogs currently housed. Without the contract renewal in place (should have happened earlier) the SPCA is not obligated to accept Lancaster dogs for adoption. Municipalities are complaining that the SPCA is not accepting local dogs for adoption yet taking in dogs outside the district.
In the SPCA agreement, Mr. Burkard says the SPCA will take in dogs in for euthanasia. Not what I have been told. The town has become obligated to provide a service which could run from $150 - $300, unlike the previous SPCA service charge of $60.
The town does not want to become an adoption agency for myriad reasons. The rescue agencies and SPCA are full.
How little we hear in town board meeting reports on the status of the new dog shelter - how short staffed the Dog Control Department is, why the new shelter has tasks yet to be completed when it was opened in June 2022, why the project has not been closed out and why the NYS Animal Companion grant money has yet to be distributed. Why is the foul smell in the building continuing when ventilation was promised months ago? Where is the promised paved parking lot?
I was sorry to hear that Mrs Karn has health issues. With the HIPPA law, I'm surprised her health issue is made public.
Last week, I dropped off a dog stroller and crate that I was donating and the odor was bad.
I never understood when they were staffing challenged why they had 2 FT working day shift and not split them up to cover more hours.One could have worked 11a/7p or 12p/8p. They would have an overlap and cover more hours.
Georgia L Schlager
Originally Posted by gorja
HIPPA violation? Seriously? LOL!
You must be referring to me as the town made no mention of the reason for Ms. Karn’s absence: WHEREAS, the full-time Dog Control Officer is temporarily unable to work in the Town of Lancaster Dog Control Department. I wrote back and found out today that I was misinformed.
As to your scheduling suggestion, which sounds a lot like the Supervisor Ruffino plan, has been repeatedly discussed and dismissed. In fact, a third full time position has been approved, posted some time ago, and there have been no takers – not for $16/hr.
Unfortunately, too many people have been led to believe Ms. Karn just sits in the shelter all day, answers the phone, attends to the animals - feeding / cleaning kennels / bathing the dogs / and some paperwork. As the full-time DCO she spends half the day outside the office seizing stray dogs, surrendered dogs, and abused dogs, answering complaints and follow ups, attending court cases, working on the budget, scheduling, record keeping, much more.
Bertozzi assisted her on many of those tasks and will now assume all duties. Good luck with that task, Ms. Bertozzi.!
“Nothing has changed,” Dog Control Committee Chair Burkard declared last night. There lies the problem, it should. The police have not been coming in at night to attend to the dogs, as required by law, and as stated by Burkard.
The Dog Control Department 2023 budget was $130,000. Too high bellows Supervisor Ruffino. The department is overstaffed says Ruffino. Really, 78 hours of coverage with Karn, 43 hours with Karn out. The department gets none of the licensing revenue it is entitled to, A dog census that was promised by the town several years ago never took place.
I would suggest that you visit the shelter and speak with the DCO to learn of the extent of their operations, or perhaps do a ride-along if permitted. Discover what the agreement with the SPCA buys – a contract that has been in place for years, and was delayed in being signed this year. Why?
Change is needed. Openness and transparency at the town board meetings is near absent. More money was wasted on the new shelter project that a year’s DCO Department budget.
Politics as usual. Much ado about nothing unless you really give a **** about dogs!
BTW: It was officially announced today that the Erie County Conservative Party endorsed Frank Todaro. Deb Lemaster was only a fill-in name on the line until the County announced its endorsement. Disinformation.
I posted this - https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...=1#post2091639Originally posted by Lee Chowaniec:
BTW: It was officially announced today that the Erie County Conservative Party endorsed Frank Todaro. Deb Lemaster was only a fill-in name on the line until the County announced its endorsement. Disinformation.
It is Lemaster's name on the petitions filed list on the Erie county elections site for Legislative district #8. If it is
disinformation, it is the information available on the election's site.
https://elections.erie.gov/pdfs/Peti...%20wewb441.pdf
Georgia L Schlager
Burkard is right when saying that because he’s in over his head. Another Sojka appointee with absolutely no knowledge of government. He has been & always will be a yes man for Sojka & Leary.
Lancaster residents are in for some dark times with this regime ruling the roost
I posted this - https://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sh...=1#post2091639
It is Lemaster's name on the petitions filed list on the Erie county elections site for Legislative district #8. If it is
disinformation, it is the information available on the election's site.
https://elections.erie.gov/pdfs/Peti...%20wewb441.pdf
In your April 14th Speak up post you wrote:
You chose to call Lemaster a flea and an associate of a political syndicate, the Leary / Sojka syndicate. You know very well that Lemaster is the Lancaster Conservative Party Chair and Sojka is the Lancaster Republican Party Chair. You know very well that Leary has been endorsed for Supervisor in the 2023 election by both party committees. Of course, that had nothing to do with the Todaro campaign seat, but it was another attempt on your part to disparage them; as you have so often in previous posts.OMG, I see Todaro may have a flea on his back this year. Deb Lemaster is running against him.
Another member of the Sojka/Leary syndicate.
What you posted on April 14th was innocuous in that it was just as I posted last night, a name fill-in formality until the county Conservative Party announced its endorsement. You knew that. The only reason I posted what I did was to ensure the public knew Lemaster had no intention of opposing Todaro and that there was ‘no flea on his back.’
Disinformation, or misinformation, or deceit it was all BS to cause controversy and/or assail an individual’s character.
Lee, I honestly didn't know that a name on a petition filed wasn't really a name on a petition filed.
Georgia L Schlager
How is a member of the public like myself suppose to know that someone would lie about petitioning to run for an office? How would we
know that they only petitioned to run while they were awaiting an endorsement of someone else?
We the public have to go by what we see on the petition filed list.
With Lorigo threatening not to endorse Todaro, Greene or Mills, it was easy to assume the petitions filed report was accurate and not phony.
I guess, live and learn.
Georgia L Schlager
The Town of Lancaster dog control posted their 2 open positions on their Facebook page
but I wonder why they're not posted on the town's website?
Also, with the mention by Councilman Burkard that there are dogs up for adoption, why are no pictures
posted on their Facebook page? They may get an adoptee or two.
Georgia L Schlager
Gorga, you and I research and share to clear the air. Here is my response to what you posted and what I wonder about.
To your knowledge have job openings in dog control ever been posted on the town website. Not to my knowledge. Not anyway since Facebook because the traffic is much heavier and shared there.The Town of Lancaster dog control posted their 2 open positions on their Facebook page
but I wonder why they're not posted on the town's website?
The two positions have been posted on the Dog Control Facebook site for the past year. There have been numerous inquiries but no takers because of the $16/hr. wage rate.Also, with the mention by Councilman Burkard that there are dogs up for adoption, why are no pictures
posted on their Facebook page? They may get an adoptee or two.
Pictures of the dogs have been posted on the Dog Control Facebook site, Gorga, not on the recent Police Facebook site. Clarification, please.
Dog Control has had public interest in adopting some dogs. It is not as simple as Councilman Burkard makes it sound. This is an exception as he is quoted in the Bee. The department does not want to become an adoption agency. It has neither the staffing nor expertise to vet dogs or individuals interested in adoption. Especially at a time like this when the department has but one full-time individual in charge of all operations. How Ms. Bertozzi can juggle all balls is beyond me.
The Lancaster Dog Control Department is interested in transferring the dogs to the SPCA or rescue agencies for adoption. Mr. Burkard tells us the SPCA is full and not accepting any dogs. He does not tell us that the SPCA would not take any of our dogs until the town renewed its contract with them, or recently took in 30 dogs from out of state.
Nor are we told that bookings for spaying / neutering are backed up until November. Nor that rabbi shot fees will also be included in the adoption process.
In the Bee Burkard says the dogs are sweethearts but may need a little work because their owners didn’t train them right. “They may have been a little hyper and need a little work.” Does our dog control department have the expertise to determine what dog should be adopted by whom to ensure that dog finds a happy / secure forever home.
As posted earlier: How little we hear in town board meeting reports on the status of the new dog shelter - how short staffed the Dog Control Department is, why the new shelter has tasks yet to be completed when it was opened in June 2022, why the project has not been closed out and why the NYS Animal Companion grant money has yet to be distributed. Why is the foul smell in the building continuing when ventilation was promised months ago? Where is the promised paved parking lot? Most importantly, who was responsible for the added $150,000 project cost because the project cost was underestimated at $305,000? The grant application was for only $305,000, not the $500,000 limit allowed – and that is where the project cost now stands.
But hey, they’re only dogs, right?
Correction
Hey Gorga:
I found out quickly and repeatedly that the dog pictures I referred to in the previous post were not posted on the Lancaster Dog Control Facebook page. They were posted on the DCO officers personal Facebook pages and distributed through social media platforms. You were correct in saying they were not on the town Facebook site.
I do not have a Facebook account and assumed incorrectly the pictures friends were telling me about came from the dog control department. My bad!
Thank you for the clarification.
I thought maybe they may have been there and recently deleted if the dogs were transferred to the SPCA.
Georgia L Schlager
Nope, no transference to SPCA. The SPCA is full and accepting no dogs.
Nor does the SPCA euthanize dogs anymore. Done at Lancaster's expense.
Have the police arrived yet to help attend to the dogs? Hope they are trained and able to stay safe.
Hope the dogs are doing well despite the lack of attention and the putrid smell.
Hope Jean gets better soon and returns to give the overwhelmed Elizabeth some relief.
I would gladly share their pictures if they were placed on the dog control website.
The Town of Clarence dog control doesn't seem to have a Facebook page but on their town department website, it states they put their adoptable pets on Petfinder. It's a free service for shelters, rescue organizations and other agencies. I don't know if our dog control utilizes this service.
Last edited by gorja; April 22nd, 2023 at 11:13 AM.
Georgia L Schlager
I did some snooping around and found these on Dog control employee Elizabeth Bertozzi's Facebook page.
One pitty she didn't get a picture of.
Georgia L Schlager
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