Ramsey City Code Section 10-66 and Minnesota Statute § 347.541 require the City to provide a hearing process for dog owners who wish to appeal a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog designation. While these appeals do not occur frequently, and a specific number per year cannot be predicted, they are usually around 1 or 2 per year. To ensure hearings can be scheduled in the short timeframe (10 days) required by statute, and conducted in a neutral and consistent manner, staff is recommending approval of a small roster of qualified, independent hearing officers rather than relying on a single individual. This approach gives the City the flexibility to assign an available hearing officer when needed to hold hearings.

See Minnesota Statutes § 347.50 to 347.565 for additional information.

Alternatives
1. Continue the current practice of searching for an available hearing officer without conflicts for each dangerous dog appeal as they occur.
2. Create a new hearing officer roster, as proposed in this case.

Dangerous dog hearing fees are currently paid from the general budget, specifically line 0161-6304.

Staff recommends approval of the Hearing Officer Roster for Dangerous and Potentially Dangerous Dog Appeal Hearings.

Motion to adopt Resolution #26-040 approving the Hearing Officer Roster for Dangerous Dog Appeal Hearings.