LOWNDES COUNTY – The county is back to the drawing board on addressing most animal control enforcement outside the city limits.
At Monday’s regular meeting, the board of supervisors approved dissolving its memorandum of understanding with Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society to have the nonprofit handle the majority of county animal control enforcement after the shelter went nearly seven months without an animal control officer and requested to be released from the agreement.
“From what I can gather from a (Humane Society) board member, they have no intention of hiring another (animal control officer), and so therefore we need to rescind that,” Board President Trip Hairston said at Monday’s meeting.
Under a previous memorandum of understanding with Columbus, the city and county each have a dedicated animal control officer and split the costs of a third, who handles responses inside and outside the city limits.
Previously, the county’s enforcement was handled by an LCSO deputy until he retired last year, necessitating a replacement. The board in May 2025 entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Humane Society to have the organization fill that position.
The county already has a contract for $6,000 a month with the Humane Society to house captured strays, so expanding its partnership seemed like a natural fit, Hairston said.
The officer would have been responsible for enforcing county ordinances, like leash laws, and capturing feral or abandoned animals outside city limits for $4,000 a month, to be pulled from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office budget.
But after the Humane Society made the hire, Executive Director Kim Hays said the officer was not given clear guidance or training from the county or LCSO on how to write citations or enforce county ordinances.
“It’s kind of been back and forth with the county and us on what they want to do,” Hays told The Dispatch on Monday. “…. And it’s just not something that we right now have the option to dabble in. … (Because) we don’t have anybody on the legal standpoint that can sit there and write citations or tickets.”
The Humane Society has struggled to hire a suitable replacement since their officer left in November, Hays said. In the meantime, she fielded animal control responses herself, but that has left her spread too thin, leading to the organization’s decision to return efforts entirely back to the county.
Hairston, who said he had not heard about these issues before Monday, believes the county was clear about its expectations through the agreement and in its communication with the Humane Society.
“I think it was a handoff that was appropriate,” Hairston said. “Now they’re saying otherwise, then they (can) certainly (have) an opinion of however they want to see that. But I’m not going to go there when it comes to just pointing fingers.”
Hairston and Hays agreed the best option for animal control moving forward is to return the position to a deputy with LCSO, who would have the proper authority to make citations and handle responses. Hairston said Sheriff Eddie Hawkins has been receptive to the idea.
“I don’t know whether it will be the sheriff’s office or just under the county umbrella, but we will have a dedicated animal control (officer) somewhere under the county umbrella,” Hairston said.
For the next few weeks, animal control efforts in the city and county will be fielded by the remaining two officers housed under Columbus Police Department, Hairston said, until the county can recover its animal control equipment from the Humane Society.
“In the meantime, the city’s just going to have to pick up that effort as best they can if they get calls from the county,” Hairston said. “It’s not ideal, but I mean, this is the situation we find ourselves in.”
Industry development
Also on Monday, the board approved increasing the LINK’s reimbursables cap by $50,000 – to $150,000 total – following an executive session in which Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Meryl Fisackerly presented to board members.
In a text to The Dispatch following Monday’s meeting, Fisackerly confirmed the request is related to a specific project, though she did not elaborate further. Reimbusable costs for a site typically include things like engineering expenses related to a project or other technical services, she said.
Neither Hairston or Fisackerly would confirm whether the request is connected to potential tenants for the CINCO Megasite, though Hairston said the request is based on the specific needs of industry looking to locate in the region.
“Those reimbursables … are not speculative,” Hairston said. “Those are actual economic development projects that are looking to locate here. … When (the LINK) have reimbursables out there for the large part, that is for specific needs based on requests from industry that is looking to locate here.”
While Hairston would not confirm the likelihood of an economic development-related announcement coming soon, he said the decision is a step in the right direction.
“That’s a good sign,” he said. “… The fact that we are spending money in that direction will tell you that there are some projects out there that (the LINK is) working on with some really good due diligence in trying to get done.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
