December 13, 2023
South Burnett dog owners who did not pay their annual dog registration fees on time this year will have the outstanding balance added to their next renewal notice.
At Wednesday’s monthly general meeting, South Burnett councillors debated what they should do about the $72,000 in dog registration fees that remained outstanding.
Councillors were told the South Burnett’s animal management services cost about $1 million a year to run, and unpaid dog registrations usually amounted to about $40,000 per year.
However, this year the number of unpaid dog registrations had almost doubled, possibly linked to the fact that no door-to-door inspections were carried out.
Council officers recommended that outstanding amounts be added to renewal notices this year rather than being written off, something which had occurred on some other occasions.
Acting Mayor Gavin Jones and councillors Scott Henschen and Kirstie Schumacher voted in favour of adding on the outstanding amounts.
Cr Schumacher said she was worried that if the fees were written off, it would be setting the wrong precedent.
Crs Jane Erkens, Danita Potter and Kathy Duff voted against the motion.
Acting Mayor Jones used his casting vote to break the deadlock.
The structure of dog licence fees – and their enforcement – has been hotly debated over the past term by the SBRC.
Dog registration fees collected by Council do not cover the cost of its animal management services.
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