Higher county dog tag fees have been proposed for non-neutered dogs.

The La Salle County Board's Animal Control Committee voted 5-1 Monday morning to join with most other local counties in establishing a split-fee system for dog registration.

Chairwoman Arratta Znaniecki, R-Ottawa, said the split-fee system is not intended to raise money for the county, but to help control the growing number of dogs.

Dr. Dell Brodd, the county animal control administrator, has repeatedly in past years said no matter how well-intentioned, people with non-neutered dogs are at risk of adding to dog population problems.

"If you have a spayed animal, that animal is not going to reproduce," he told the committee last month.

Catherine Owens, R-Sandwich, opposed the split fees. She told The Times she believes whether a dog owner wants to get their pet neutered is a personal choice, and it is unfair to make responsible pet owners pay for irresponsible pet owners.

Under the proposal the full County Board will consider Friday, Nov. 20, the registration fee for dogs not spayed or neutered would be doubled effective Friday, Jan. 1.

The fees for altered dogs would be $10 for one year and $30 for three years. For unaltered dogs the fees would be $20 for one year and $60 for three years.

Those fees would be identical to the ones charged in Bureau, Livingston and Marshall counties, according to a study conducted by Brodd.

Under the proposal, senior citizens with neutered dogs could apply for a half-price tag of $5 for one year or $15 for three years. However, if their dogs are not neutered, there would be no discount.

The county's current license fee for both altered and unaltered dogs is $10 for one year and $27 for three years.

The committee also recommended a flat yearly fee of $75 for dog breeders providing a valid state kennel license.

The committee debated including licenses for cats, but tabled discussion until its next meeting.

Sandi Billard, R-Oglesby, said the county's cat population is a "big problem in our community" and that cats pose as big a problem as dogs from the standpoint of rabies control.

Brodd asked committee member Ken Stockley, R-Earlville, who is a farmer, what he thought would happen if farmers had to register cats.

"There would be a wholesale slaughter," Stockley replied.

Owners of non-neutered dogs were spared an additional $10 annual fee when the committee passed on enacting provisions of "Anna's Law," the informal name for the state's Animal Population Control Act. The 2005 law nicknamed after the victim of a fatal dog attackwas co-sponsored by state Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville. It requires an additional $10 annual fee to be paid by the owners of registered but unneutered animals.

The fees are to be used to provide discount sterilization and rabies vaccination for the dogs and cats. The county has the option of keeping the money to offer the service itself or sending the money to the Illinois Department of Public Health for a statewide program.

Less than a dozen of the state's 102 counties participate in the program, which is not enforced by the IDPH. Znaniecki told the committee the county is not required to comply.

The committee also tabled a proposal discussed in October that all dogs also be implanted with a microchip to assist with owner identification. Brodd could not find any other county that has enacted such a law.