In the way of some history on the project, Bosque Farms Mayor Wayne Ake said the purpose of the rewrite was to combine the village's three ordinances pertaining to animals into one.

"There are good and bad in both," Ake said of the ordinances. "I don't think either of them can be accepted as they stand at this point. I think we need to select one as the place to begin."

He continued, saying that he saw things in both that he felt were unenforceable and would be a cost to both the village and the residents.

"Some things, I don't think the village wants to see restricted these ways," he said. "I have always wanted to see less restrictions on our residents. One needs to be selected, and we will work through this as a council."

Councilor Virgil Proctor noted that there were actually three choices before the council — the existing, three separate ordinances, the new ordinance created by the committee and a third ordinance that was basically a combination of the three separate ordinances into one document.

Proctor then made a motion to keep the ordinances as they were and use the three that were currently on the books in the combined format. After a long silence, Councilor Bill Kennedy seconded the motion.

Referencing the combined ordinance, Councilor Dolly Wallace said she wasn't sure when the majority of the village's existing ordinances were written.

"Probably when we were incorporated," said Wallace, who co-chaired the committee. "Some of the ordinances there are against current state statutes. And there are areas in there none of us want to be into — animals can be numbered, an amount. The old ordinance has served us well, but we need to step up into at least the year 2000."

Wallace went on to say she saw no major research put into the combined ordinance.

"This was thrown together," she said. "If that is what the council really wanted, why did we appoint the committee? We could have done this in-house, combined the three ordinances and presented it. This actually gives us less ordinances and less if the weak link."

Pointing out the prevalence of animal activist groups such as PETA, Wallace said often they look for communities with weak ordinances.

"We want to actively work to improve the treatment of animals. Most of us were raised around agriculture and animals, and it's common sense," Wallace said. "We encourage animal ownership in Bosque Farms, and we've never had limitations.

"Some people can have 15 animals and you would never know," she said. "Others could have one and it's horrible. In the long run, I think we are protecting residents by keeping activists out with a good, strong ordinance."

Councilor Bob Knowlton commended the committee for all its hard work, and said the new ordinance has many strong points.

"I don't agree with all the things in there. I question whether the village should take on licensing," Knowlton said. "We are talking about thousands of animals, and we are strapped for funding. I understand the reasons advocating for licensing, and that may be something the village addresses in the future."

Ake said he would like to start with the old ordinances and incorporate the "good" parts of the new ordinance. The mayor said he didn't like the part of the new ordinance that eliminated fees for "five-star breeders," leaving the burden to the rest of the citizens.

Former village mayor Sharon Eastman addressed the council, saying she was probably involved in writing at least some of the old animal control ordinances.

"The group that came up with the combination of the ordinances didn't have any public meetings I know of," Eastman said. "I attended some of the committee meetings, and from the viewpoint of someone who has written ordinances, this is one fantastic ordinance.

"If the council is not ready to take this as it stands, then I would say have workshops starting with the new ordinance and thrash out the small parts that are of concern. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. I have read this three times. It is good, and it is needed."

Saying that while he wasn't really "gung-ho" about rules and regulations, village resident Bruce Smith said the ordinance wasn't for those people that took care of their animals.

"They are for my neighbor who hasn't lived there for a year, and the dog he left behind in the backyard," Smith said. "The dog has no shelter from the elements, and he is fed occasionally. I don't like the imposition of fines, but they are for the people who are not taking care of their animals. If you don't have something, eventually the problem will overwhelm you."

Bill Capshaw, one of the two breeders who wrote the consolidated ordinance based on the village's three existing ordinances, said they used the state animal control ordinances and incorporated the three separate ordinances into one final document.

"None of ours goes against the State of New Mexico statutes," Capshaw said. "An animal protection act is one thing. Animal control ordinance is another."

Mark Rosenblum, who has been involved in animal rescue for the last eight years and assisted in rewriting the county's animal control ordinances, said the number one reason to have licensing is to satisfy the state requirement for rabies vaccinations.

"Bosque Farms doesn't have that. Right now, if an animal is picked up and it's not licensed or micro-chipped, it probably will not be returned to its owner," Rosenblum said. "The licensing can be done by volunteers. I don't see this costing the village money, but rather making money."

Sherry Mangold, a call taker with the state's attorney general's animal cruelty hotline, presented the council with statistics she had compiled from calls from March 2008 through mid-February of this year. Information collected by calls to the hotline is forwarded on to the correct animal control agency, she said.

Seven of the 12 livestock calls Mangold personally took involved horses.

"I was surprised at the number of equine issues you had," Mangold said. "An animal control officer has to have tools to do the job, and one tool is the ordinances to fall back on. The current ordinances are not acceptable for the safety of people, as well as the care of the animals."

She noted that the annual licensing fee proposed in the new ordinance was $5 annually for a dog.

"If a person can't afford $5 annually for a license, how are they going to make sure that animal is properly vaccinated and fed," she asked. "Maybe they shouldn't have a dog that year. It will cost more than that to feed and care for the animal."

The community programs manager for Animal Protection of New Mexico, Leslie King, said the new ordinance protected both residents and animals.

"The current one doesn't do that at all," King said.

A member of the committee, Leigh Morton, said she was "very disconcerted" that the council would consider using the ordinance developed by a special interest group, the two breeders, as a starting point for the final ordinance rather than the one developed by the council's appointed committee.

"The committee had two breeders, a veterinarian, certified rescue, people who were opposed to the ordinance and people who were in favor of it," Morton said. "It is a very fair group of people."

She said the old ordinances contained fines and fees just like the new one.

The committee chair, Judy Babcock, also addressed the issue of the committee.

"This was an appointed committee, and anyone who wanted to could be on it," Babcock said. "We have spent two years researching this, and to back out now is unbelievable. It is an unbelievable abuse of power, and I can't believe the council is considering this.

"There have been inaccuracies and contradictions presented here. He (Capshaw) is saying his ordinance is based on state ordinances. There are no state ordinances," she said. "He is talking about the old Bosque Farms ordinances. You are disregarding our time and efforts. I just can't believe it."

Wallace asked Capshaw where section 8-1-17 in his proposed ordinance appeared in the document.

"It's in the index, but I don't see it in the body," she said.

After some looking, Capshaw said that section was not in the version of the ordinance the council had.

After further discussion, Proctor restated and clarified his motion to use the village's existing three ordinances that are on the books as a starting point and incorporate parts of the new ordinance to create the final animal control ordinance. Kennedy seconded the motion.

The final was vote was a 2-2 tie with Proctor and Kennedy voting in favor and Wallace and Knowlton voting against. The mayor broke the tie with a no vote.

Wallace then made a motion to use the new ordinance from the committee as the council's starting point to develop a final ordinance. The vote was called and same 2-2 split occurred. Ake also voted no on that motion.

With both motions defeated on a 3-2 vote, Proctor made a motion to use both the existing ordinances and the new ordinance from the committee as the starting point. His motion also included a workshop.

Ake suggested setting a 60-day deadline, but the motion died for lack of a second.

Wallace made a motion to defer the matter until the next council meeting, and let the new councilors weigh in on the matter. The motion got an enthusiastic second from Proctor, who did not seek a second term in office.

"I'll second that one," he declared.

The motion passed 4-0.