The impact of Frisco’s rapid growth on citizens and public safety departments remains at the forefront of many conversations regarding tomorrow’s local election. Candidates for mayor Bob Allen and Jeff Cheney have expressed their intentions to effectively handle this rapid growth and support public safety departments. Bob Allen has stated “Public safety must remain our number one priority”. Jeff Cheney maintains a focus on “quality over quantity” in response to growth and has also expressed public safety to be his “Priority #1”.
Fully supporting public safety should include supporting Frisco’s Animal Services division, a division of the Frisco Police Department. In addition to helping stray, neglected, and abused pets by bringing them to Collin County Animal Shelter for adoption, Frisco’s dedicated Animal Services officers protect local animals by enforcing animal related laws. They also handle rabies and zoonotic disease concerns, enforce rabies vaccination requirements, move animals from dangerous areas (such as a roadway), and promote wildlife education.
Steven Lerner, Animal Services Supervisor, was kind enough speak with me about the Animal Services division’s goals. He explained, “The City of Frisco’s Animal Services division is committed to promoting and enforcing the humane treatment of animals, protecting the public and its property by enforcing the City’s animal related laws, and educating and encouraging responsible pet ownership. We recently changed our name from Animal Control to Animal Services to reflect our commitment to serving our residents and all of our animals. Some of the initiatives we promote are keeping up with vaccinations, spay and neuter education, animal adoption events, and living with urban wildlife”.
The public safety needs addressed by Animal Services become more extensive as more people and pets arrive to one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Steven Lerner shed some light on how city growth has affected the division: “Frisco is a growing community and as the population grows, so do the calls for service. To keep up with the growth, the division has increased from two officers to six in a relatively short amount of time”. This impact increases the importance of a commitment to providing needed resources to public safety departments.
The Jeff Cheney campaign helpfully responded in a professional manner to my questioning if his commitment to public safety will also apply to the Animal Services division. The campaign stated, “I certainly want to provide the resources for the entire department including animal control”.
Don’t forget to vote in tomorrow’s local election to make sure your public safety concerns are heard.
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