PARIS – Town officials are reconsidering how to pay the salary of Robert Larrabee, an animal control officer who works for several towns in the region.

In Paris, Larrabee is paid $70 per week, Town Manager Steve McAllister said. In addition, he keeps the $25 fee collected from residents who fail to register their dogs.

McAllister said the town may want to rethink the use of the $25 late-licensing fees, as well as Larrabee’s salary in general. It’s not all about money. The issue, McAllister said, is that the Board of Selectmen has never voted on Larrabee’s pay rate.

“The law says municipal officers have to determine the animal control officer’s compensation,” McAllister said.

He has brought the discrepancy to the attention of the selectmen, and said he hopes to soon have the matter resolved.

“I’ll be talking to (Larrabee) and seeing if we can come up with a plan to bring back to the selectmen,” he said.

Larrabee was paid $3,600 in salary last year. Total dog licensing fees collected were $7,313. Of those fees, Larrabee took home $320 in late-licensing fees.

According to the annual town report, 540 dogs were licensed in Paris last year. Licenses were $10 for un-neutered dogs and $6 for neutered dogs. The late fee for licensing a dog after Jan. 31 was $15. If Larrabee had to be contacted to track down an unregistered dog, the fee was $25.

Larrabee responded to 670 animal-related complaints last year, according to the report.

In Norway, Town Manager David Holt said Larrabee is contracted at a rate of $4,042 this year. That amount has increased slightly over the years to cover cost of living and fuel increases, he said.

Norway once issued the late-licensing fees to Larrabee, but doesn’t now, Holt said. Instead, the fees collected from licensing are used to help offset Larrabee’s annual salary.

Oxford uses Larrabee’s services as well. Acting Town Manager Sharon Jackson said the town pays the animal control officer at the same rate as Paris, paying him $70 per week and giving him the late-licensing fees when he has to find the owners of unregistered dogs.

“The reason why we do that here is because he’s actually the one going out and doing all the legwork,” Jackson said.

According to state law, she said, “The fee can be kept by the town or it can be given to him.”