Will also charge more for unsterilized pets
The Kane County Board this week raised registration fees for cats and dogs.
“Once again government is going to tax people because we can,” board member Deborah Allan said.
Saying the county has had difficulty as it is getting people to register, she doubted this would improve matters. “I don’t think we are getting the results that we want.”
The fee is charged when a pet is inoculated against rabies.
The board also approved charging $10 more for unaltered pets. State law says that if a county charges a registration fee, it is supposed to charge more for dogs and cats that aren’t spayed or neutered. The $10 will go into a fund to pay for spaying and neutering pets owned by low-income families.
A one-year tag for a spayed/neutered dog and cat will go from $10 to $25, and a three-year tag will now cost $62.50, up from $25.
Allan and board members Bonnie Kunkel, Myrna Molina, Monica Silva, T.R. Smith and Melisa Taylor voted against the increase.
DuPage County charges $10 and $30 for the one- and three-year tags. In McHenry County, fees vary depending on whether the dog has a microchip ID implanted and is altered, and range from $8 for a one-year tag for a spayed, chipped dog to $75 for a three-year tag for an unaltered, non-chipped dog. It also offers special pricing for breeding females. DeKalb County charges $17 for a one-year tag and $42 for a three-year tag.
DuPage, McHenry and DeKalb do not require tags for cats.