I would have to think in a small town like where you are, most people there would know that she's just a busy body and wouldn't be any good to have on the council. Still, it might not be such a bad idea to be out there pressing the flesh, and maybe providing some yummy treats to sway voters. ;-)Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that.![]()
I'm on the town council here, and I recently sat through the reading of a complaint letter about my chickens in a council meeting. Awkward! But to give the mayor and my fellow council members credit they pulled up the animal ordinance and scoured it for cause. That didn't take long, because this council is the one who put the first animal control ordinances on the books in the first place. The consensus was that poultry was specifically left out of the ordinance - it covers sheep, cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, goats and swine, but there are no restrictions on poultry. The only requirements are that, like all of the listed animals, housing must be located within set back parameters and must be kept in a manner which does not constitute a nuisance. Facilities were required to be kept clean, measures taken to deter pests, and the animals properly cared for. Well, I had to concede that my 3 roos were, indeed, a nuisance, but I informed the council that the roos were destined for freezer camp anyway. The complainer, who was in attendance that night to be sure her letter was read and acted upon, then wanted us to immediately amend the ordinances to put restrictions on chickens specifically. We had to remind her that in order to do that we had to have 3 public readings of the amendment before it could be adopted, so she was looking at a minimum of 4 months before anything would change. By then my roosters would be in the freezer. She was perilously close to accusing the council of leaving poultry out of the ordinance just so that I could keep my chickens, until the mayor reminded her that I was elected to council 3 years before, the ordinance was written during my first year as a council member, and I didn't get chickens until this year, the last year of my current term. She was not happy when she left that meeting, and is now actively campaigning against me in my bid for re-election. I sat silently during that meeting unless asked a specific question. As a citizen she has every right - in fact, she has a responsibility - to come to her town council with complaints and concerns and if my roosters were bothering her then she did exactly what she should have done. In this town folks have kept back yard animals since the first settlers arrived here, and our ordinance allowed that tradition to continue in a way that brought peace between the owners and non-owners. It provides for an annual permit to house livestock in town. Those who own livestock in town have more incentive to keep them in a non-offensive manner and those who have issues with a neighbor's animals now have recourse and know that there are ordinances and rules for enforcement on the books to protect their rights.
The bottom line is that folks like me who serve on the councils are not supposed to get any kind of special treatment, nor extend that special treatment to others. Does it help that a council member has seen your animals and is in your corner? Absolutely! Does it mean you might not face a complaint if someone gets a burr under their saddle? Nope. But you do now have an ally, and that can only be a good thing!