MUSCATINE, Iowa – Changes to the process for Muscatine residents to register their pets will be one of five topics on the agenda for the Muscatine City during their July in-depth session this Thursday (July 13). The Council will also hear presentations on changing eligibility for yard waste collection, the wash bay project, changes to City Code in regards to right-of-way permits, and an assessment of the Community Development Department.
The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Council Chambers at Muscatine City Hall. The public is welcomed, and encouraged, to attend the meeting in person. Public comment is usually not permitted during these work sessions that are geared toward City staff providing information to the Council on a variety of topics.
The City Council session will also be broadcast live on the City of Muscatine YouTube channel and on Civic-TV (Muscatine Power & Water Cable Channel 2). A virtual meeting option is available upon request.
City staff will be recommending to Council that the city enter into a contract with PetData to provide animal licensing services. Council had directed City staff to research opportunities that would provide greater opportunity for citizens to register their pets and increase compliance with City Code on licensing pets. Pet Data is the only company in the United States providing full-service animal licensing to municipalities, humane societies, and other animal welfare agencies.
The services included in the contract would include:
- On-line licensing for citizens
- Processing license applications
- Depositing licensing revenue
- Entering license and vaccination data
- Mailing license tags, notices and reminders
- Providing customer service to clients and pet owners
- a PetAccess portal
- Collecting and processing reports from veterinarians
- Maintaining privacy of all data
Pursuant to the City Council’s goals of Excellent Customer Service and Reliable Public Infrastructure, Public Works staff has been working on updating and streamlining City Code to increase the efficiency of permitting and inspections for work that would be dedicated to the city. Public Works staff is proposing a complete rewrite of Title 3, Chapter 2 to improve the permitting, inspection, construction, and final approval process.
The final presentation is in regards to an assessment of the Community Development Department, the current state of the department, and a roadmap of targeted actions for any identified opportunities and challenges. The information presented and Council feedback will be used to increase the efficiency of the department and improve customer service.
Information on the other agenda items can be found by clicking AGENDA to download a PDF version of the City Council agenda and/or attachments. The agenda contains the link for the virtual meeting.