Pet owners will continue to pay licence fees as Cochrane sticks with its user-pay model that helps to pay for pet-related services.
Coun. Tara McFadden was the only councillor to support her motion to eliminate the fees, questioning whether the cost of administering the program is justified.
Protective Services Director Jay Judin told council the program is expected to generate $155,000 in revenue in 2025. Administration costs are currently pegged at $114,500, leaving about $40,000 to cover pet-related services.
Those funds help pay for dog park maintenance, animal control, waste bags and contributions to the Cochrane and Area Humane Society.
Judin said administration fees could be nearly cut in half—down to $58,534—by adopting an online pet licensing software aimed at improving efficiency and accessibility. The software comes with an annual $4,500 licensing fee and can be cancelled at any time.
"I still think that we're not getting enough value out of the service, and I argue we should just maintain an animal bylaw for all those purposes, but requiring people to have a municipal dog tag is not really adding value," said McFadden.
She suggested replacing the licence system with alternative forms of pet identification of the owner's choice.
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Coun. Alex Reed strongly disagreed, pointing to the town’s user-pay philosophy. He argued the fee could be even higher, citing ongoing demand for services.
“To maintain the dog parks that we currently have, and the need for more dog parks, we probably should be going the other way,” said Reed. “I think we should be increasing the licensing fees for pets—and I speak as a dog owner.”
The town currently issues licences for 4,515 dogs and 1,063 cats. Some councillors noted that number likely doesn’t capture all pets in Cochrane.
That’s more licensed pets than there are people in 70 Alberta communities, and amounts to roughly the population of Barrhead.