WESTFIELD – The city’s police commission responded at their recent meeting to a cry for help from the director of animal control operations and started an effort to increase staffing in the department.
Kenneth Frazer, the director of the department, spoke with the commissioners at the May 20 meeting of the commission and asked that the working hours authorized for the part time animal control officer, Kerri Francis, be increased from 18 hours per week to about 36 hours weekly.
He said that the work load has increased greatly since he started his job in the city.
“The animal control (department) took on more towns, took on a shelter” he said. “I just have too much work for one person to handle – or one and a half persons.”
“Last year I was told I’d have another person and that got taken away when the budget came through. I just need help,” he said.
Police chief Jon Camerota said “I agree with Ken. The animal shelter was grown to the point were you can’t control it with the current staff” he said but deferred to Capt. Michael McCabe, who has direct oversight of the program, for a recommendation.
“Probably at any give time (there are) somewhere in the ballpark of 15 to 25 dogs in the kennel” McCabe said and continued by saying “We can’t continue, we really shouldn’t continue, to service it with a volunteer group.”
He lauded Francis saying “Kerri is a certified animal control officer. She’s got all the proper requirements so it isn’t as if we’re going to have to train somebody for the position.”
The commissioners asked about the cost of increasing the animal control position to full time status and Frazer said that he was also asking for a $2 per hour raise for Francis.
McCabe said that the additional cost to the city would be in the neighborhood of $17,000.
Commissioner Leonard Osowski said “I think we need it, my issue is whether the mayor’s going to say ‘Okay’.”
The other commissioners agreed with him and a motion offered by commission chairman Karl Hupfer “to look into the funding of an additional full time animal control officer” passed unanimously.
