That gives police the ability to make contact with the owners of dogs who cause a disturbance by barking, yelping or howling and issue citations to residents who fail to voluntarily comply.
“The officers are not going to go out looking for it,” Administrator Ron Hess said during Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s more of a response. The officers will contact the owner of the dogs to try to mitigate the issue with them before citing them if there’s no other option.”
Violators can be found guilty of a minor misdemeanor that is subject to a fine up to $100 plus court costs.
“Anyone who lives near a dog that continually barks or howls knows how frustrating it can be,” Trustee John Morris said. “This resolution gives our officers some leverage in trying to solve the issue first while having the recourse to take action if needed.”
Previously, when the police department received a complaint regarding barking dogs, Miami Twp. had no ordinance or resolution to address it, and the complaint would have to be forwarded to the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center for enforcement.
Police Chief Charlie Stiegelmeyer said citing someone for their dog’s “habitual or frequent barking” would require officer discretion, as “there is not a clear-cut meaning of habitual.”
Change in parking rules
The township’s board of trustees on Tuesday also approved a measure creating a parking violations bureau and adopting a non-criminal parking infraction violation.
“The parking bureau is important because it adds a means for my police officers to enforce common parking nuisances that we have in the township that are not covered under the Ohio Revised Code,” Stiegelmeyer told the Dayton Daily News.
The action replaced an existing resolution that created a parking violations bureau in 1999, he said.
The most common issues police see involve extended parking on the street, Stiegelmeyer said.
Tickets for parking violations will cost $10 or $20.
One area covered by the violations prohibits parking for longer than 72 hours in the same spot unless the owner of the vehicle notifies the police chief of the need to leave the vehicle parked in such areas for longer than 72 hours and receives permission to park the vehicle there.
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