PARIS — The closure of an Oxford animal shelter will mean a big rise in animal control costs.
Town Manager Phil Tarr said the only nearby shelter is the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston.
It’s a long distance for Animal Control Officer Robert Larrabee, who used to transport animals to the Allen Hill Animal Shelter in Oxford, which was run by his mother.
Larrabee will start charging 51 cents per mile, which he didn’t do when the shelter was in Oxford. A round-trip from Paris to the Lewiston shelter is about 50 miles.
He said drop-off fees, inoculation and the occasional euthanasia of animals picked up in Paris was costing the town a little over $6,000 a year. “The total cost now is up to around $15,000 to $16,000,” Tarr said.
He said the town was paying Allen Hill Animal Shelter $400 a year for its services.
The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society assesses towns at $1.32 per resident, Tarr said, which will total more than $6,000 alone.
Tarr said the Budget Committee will look into adjusting the budget on Thursday to compensate for higher animal control costs.
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