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WARREN -- Trumbull County is earning 13 percent less in income from the sale of dog licenses today than it received in 2019, according to Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder.
In 2018, the county had $355,716 in total dog license sales, according to auditor records. The county had $303,387 in dog license sales last year.
"It has been a downward trend," Yoder told commissioners during their weekly workshop meeting. "We have an issue of compliance. There are dog owners not registering their pets."
All dog owners are supposed to get licenses for their dogs.
The county's information technology department, which is run from the auditor's office, is asking the commissioners to approve spending $3,480 for FairField Computing Services of Lancanster, Ohio, to provide an online dog licensing center through which residents can obtain registration for their dogs. Fairfield will set up and train the appropriate county personnel for the operation of the equipment.
"The system will allow dog owners to either register or renew the registration of their dogs," Tim Haniford, director of information technology, said.
Yoder suggested the county needs to look for ways to encourage residents to register their dogs.
"We should make the system for registration as easy as possible," Yoder said. "I would rather encourage them to register their pets than to punish them."
Yoder suggested getting more vendors across the county to provide the licenses.
"We need to get the word out about the need to license their dogs," she noted. "Some people simply do not know they have to license them."
Dog licenses can be obtained by going to the Trumbull County Auditor's Office. Licenses cost $18 per dog.
Mahoning County has an online dog license registration system and licenses can be purchased at the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.