Here in our wonderful little town of Danville we have an elected Animal Control Officer (ACO). Most towns have appointed ACOs, but not ours. Ours has no one to oversee her duties and she has free reign to do as she wishes. In other words, she has no accountability. We, as a town, have provided her with a vehicle to conduct her duties with. A vehicle which she doesn't use. Instead she uses her personal vehicle and has unauthorized persons accompany her on calls which is a liability. In addition, she makes announcements via social media, but not all of us in town are privy to these announcements because she has "blocked" many of us because we do not agree with how she conducts her duties. So as taxpayers, who pay her stipend, we are not able to access the information she puts out for the town, i.e. dog licensing,  bear alerts, missing pets, rabies clinics, ect.. Also, the town has provided her with a laptop computer that she can't seem to use in order to keep records or access needed information. She also makes frequent posts giving out false information that many believe is in order to increase her total number of "dispatches" (calls that add to her income). When people ask about dog licensing, she refers them, through social media, to the County Dispatch which then calls her, increasing her numbers. Many of us find this unethical behavior, but there is no recourse because she answers to no one. She has claimed to be available 24/7 but cannot be reached or simply refuses to go to a call because someone else is there to handle it even though it is in her jurisdiction and not theirs. I should add, that our ACO also sits on the Board of Selectmen, so we feel there is definitely a conflict of intrest issue when anything ACO related is brought before the Board.

All we ask is that our ACO have accountability and someone, preferably the Danville Police Department, to oversee her duties or to give the duties wholly to the Danville Police Department, who have said that they are very willing and able to take over the ACO position. 

Thank you,

Concerned Citizens of Danville