A Bartholomew County ordinance that increases most animal-related fines received final approval Monday from the Bartholomew County Commissioners.
Under the ordinance, the maximum fine for a violation will rise from $35 to $50. The last time these amounts were increased was Oct. 26, 1987, county attorney Grant Tucker said.
There is a separate fine for every animal the violator owns, which means if a $50 fine is levied against the owner of two dogs, the fine would increase to $100.
The increases were made at the recommendation of Bartholomew County Animal Control Officer Mark Case, who told the commissioners most of the increased fines deal specifically with regulations concerning dogs.
"We’ll give violators a verbal and a written warning, and then if it happens a third time, that’s when we fine them," Case told the commissioners on Monday.
