Police chief warns of animal-control strain, rising public-nuisance cases

Police Chief Mayberry told the council the department’s 2023 annual report was available for review and provided a status update on current operations: the department has handled roughly 6,213 incidents year-to-date, is managing about 60 public-nuisance cases and has received approximately 65 animal calls that are straining capacity.

Mayberry said the city’s animal-shelter capacity is full at times and that the department has recently had to turn animals away. He described the staffing structure that handles animal control and code enforcement—one full-time Community Service Officer (CSO) dedicated to evidence work and another CSO who is a half-time dispatcher—leaving limited capacity to respond to animal-related calls and public nuisances. The chief said some neighboring communities have asked the Weed Police Department to take over animal control, but the city lacks the capacity to do so at present.

Council members discussed staffing and budget uses, with the chief noting the city historically has allocated funds (the "cops" allocation) toward CSO positions but that current funding levels no longer fully cover the needed positions. The council and chief expressed interest in exploring options to maintain community-service functions while protecting patrol resources.

Chief Mayberry also reminded the council that National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is upcoming and thanked dispatch staff for their work.