8.19.070 Notices of violation and/or abatement.
(1) Whenever a county animal protection and control officer has reasonable grounds to believe that an animal or facility is violating or being maintained in violation of this title, they shall be authorized to issue to the violator a notice of violation or an abatement notice containing:
(a) The name and address, if known, of the owner or person in violation of the resolution codified herein;
(b) A statement that the animal control officer has found the animal or facility to be maintained illegally, with a brief description of the violation;
(c) A statement assessing a civil penalty for each violation, which penalty(ies) shall be paid to the county within thirty (30) days from the date of issuance. The penalties assessed against the violations grouped as below within any twelve (12) month period will be as follows:
|
Violation |
1st Offense |
2nd Offense |
3rd Offense |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$250.00 |
$400.00 |
$500.00 |
|
|
Nuisance violations 8.11.060 |
|
|
|
|
(1) Noise |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(2) Property damage |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(4) Threatening |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(7) Running at large |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(12) Health code |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(13) Vicious |
300.00 |
500.00 |
1,000.00 |
|
(14) Possessing wildlife |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
(18) Injury |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
Quarantine violations 8.19.140 |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
Cruelty to animals 8.11.070 |
500.00 |
1,000.00 |
1,500.00 |
|
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
|
All other violations |
250.00 |
400.00 |
500.00 |
|
Late payment penalties: |
|
|
|
|
If unpaid between 30 and 60 days |
Original penalty plus 100% |
||
|
If unpaid between 60 and 90 days |
Original penalty plus 200% |
||
At the discretion of the manager of the animal protection and control program or if there is a financial inability to pay, any penalty, or portion thereof, imposed as described above may be converted to community service hours. The community service hours will be administered by the Clark County corrections department. The Clark County corrections department will convert the dollar amount indicated by the manager of the animal protection and control program to a certain number of hours of community service to be worked based upon the prevailing conversion rate that the corrections department credits dollar amounts of fines into community service hours.
At the discretion of the manager of the animal protection and control program or their authorized personnel, any civil penalty(ies) not paid within thirty (30) days from the date of issuance of the notice of violation may be assigned to a collection agency for collection;
(d) A statement setting out any order of abatement and a reasonable period during which to comply as determined by the animal control officer;
(e) A statement advising that if any required abatement, or other corrective action, is not complete within the time specified, or any civil penalty is not timely paid, the animal control officer shall report such noncompliance to the office of the prosecuting attorney, which shall have authority to issue a criminal citation, charging such person with violation of this title, and that the animal protection and control program may take such other recourse as is provided for within this title;
(f) A statement that the determination of violation or imposition of any penalty may be appealed by filing written notice of appeal with the manager of animal protection and control within twenty (20) days of service of the notice of violation.
Unpaid penalties must reach the animal protection and control program within thirty (30) days of service of notice of violation. Unpaid penalties shall double in amount after thirty (30) days from service and triple if unpaid sixty (60) days from service;
(g) The notice of violation or abatement notice and order shall be served on the owner or keeper of the animal or facility in violation of this title either personally or by mailing a copy of such notice by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested, to the person at his last known address;
Proof of personal service of the notice shall be made at the time of service by a written declaration under penalty of perjury executed by the person effecting service, declaring time, date and manner in which service was made;
(h) A notation stating that failure to respond to this notice of violation and/or abatement notice by timely payment of civil penalties, timely compliance with the abatement notice, timely performance of the community service hours, or timely appeal is a misdemeanor punishable as provided for in Section 8.19.020.
(2) Notices of violation issued for violations of the pet licensing requirement as set forth in Sections 8.07.010 and 8.07.200 may be dismissed by the manager of the program upon proof that the required pet license(s) have been obtained within ten (10) days of service of the notice(s) of violation. The first violation for an unlicensed animal will have the civil penalty automatically waived if compliance is complete within ten (10) days of the date of the violation.
(3) Any person who has been issued a notice of violation or order to abate pursuant to this chapter and who willfully fails to respond to the notice of civil violation by either the payment of the civil penalty and all late payment penalties within ninety (90) days of issuance or to the order to abate by compliance therewith within the time specified in the order, or by the timely filing of a notice of appeal shall be guilty of a misdemeanor regardless of the disposition of the notice of violation or order to abate. (Sec. 1 of Res. 1981-04-108; amended by Sec. 31 of Res. 1984-12-65; amended by Sec. 19 of Ord. 1985-12-06; amended by Sec. 23 of Ord. 1987-11-37; amended by Sec. 24 of Ord. 1993-08-13A; amended by Sec. 1 of Ord. 1996-01-16; amended by Section 6 of Ord. 2011-04-06; amended by Sec. 39 of Ord. 2016-11-13; amended by Sec. 10 of Ord. 2023-01-08)