Yates County lawmakers have scheduled an October 13 public hearing on a proposed animal abuser registry that would restrict people convicted of certain animal crimes from owning pets and require animal sellers and shelters to check a county list before transfers.
The hearing is set for 1 p.m. in the Legislative Chambers at 417 Liberty Street in Penn Yan. The Legislature voted September 14 to hold the hearing on proposed Local Law No. 2 of 2026; it did not enact the registry. The hearing was among more than 30 resolutions adopted that day on public safety, youth programs, county staffing and infrastructure.
What the proposed registry would require
The proposal would direct the Yates County Sheriff's Office to maintain an online registry of county residents 18 or older convicted of specified animal abuse crimes on or after the law takes effect. The list would appear on the sheriff's page of the county website and include names and residence information. The covered offenses include animal fighting, aggravated cruelty, abandonment, poisoning, harming service or police animals and other listed crimes. Youthful offenders with sealed records would be excluded.
People subject to the law would have to register within five days of release from incarceration or, if they were not incarcerated, the judgment of conviction. They would provide their name and aliases, township of residence, date of birth and an unaltered photograph. The proposal also calls for an annual in-person update and a new photograph, plus an update within five days of an address or legal-name change.
A first conviction would put a person on the registry for seven years, measured under the proposal from release or conviction. A second qualifying conviction would trigger lifetime registration. The sheriff would have to remove a person's information within five days after being notified that a qualifying conviction was successfully appealed.
The proposed law would prohibit people who are registered or required to register from owning, possessing, living with or intentionally having physical contact with a companion animal or pet. It would also bar Yates County shelters, pet dealers and other people or entities from transferring a pet to a listed county resident. Transferors would have to check the registry or call the sheriff's office if they could not access it. The proposal says those provisions would not apply to farm animals for farmers or service animals for people with disabilities.
Registration would carry a one-time $125 fee, which the sheriff could waive after reviewing an application from someone unable to pay. Failure to register could be punished as a misdemeanor by up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. A violation of the pet-possession ban could carry the same jail maximum and a fine of up to $5,000. A knowing unlawful transfer could draw a fine of up to $5,000, though the proposal says a first transfer violation may not be fined and provides a defense for a transferor who checked the registry and did not find the person's name.
If lawmakers later adopt the measure, it would take effect when filed with the New York secretary of state. The October hearing is the next step for the proposal.
Public safety and school staffing
The Legislature authorized a $121,542.44 annual agreement, subject to county attorney approval, for maintenance and repair of land-mobile radio, tower-site and microwave equipment. The contract covers June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027, with Midstate Communications of Oriskany designated to provide the Motorola Solutions service.
Lawmakers also authorized the sheriff and legislative chair to sign a software agreement with Blue Voice Inc. from September 1, 2026, through December 31, 2028. The county's resolution describes the product as an artificial-intelligence platform intended to give officers access to legal, policy and community resources. Payments over the contract period total $30,000: nothing in the first period, $10,000 in the second and $20,000 in the third. Those anticipated benefits are the county's description; the resolution does not report an independent evaluation of the software.
For Dundee Central School District, the Legislature authorized a memorandum of understanding for school resource officer services reimbursed by the district at $78,479.35 for 2026-27, including wages, fringe benefits and insurance. A related resolution authorized the sheriff to fill a full-time deputy sheriff youth officer assignment at the district, with an estimated $3,055 annual increase in county cost. The full-time position had been vacant since a 2023 promotion and was temporarily covered by a retired deputy working part time through the end of the 2025-26 school year.
The Legislature also approved new bylaws for the county's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The 16-member council is to study jail needs, criminal justice operations, mental health and substance-use programs, pretrial services, alternatives to incarceration and court access, then advise lawmakers. It must meet at least six times a year. Final authority over spending, contracts and legal matters remains with the Legislature or another governing board.
Youth programs, staffing and county policy
County officials were authorized to sign Youth Bureau contracts for October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2027, using state youth-development, youth-sports and education funding. The awards span libraries, recreation programs, sports and arts. Among them are $7,000 for Our Town Rocks youth programming, $6,581 for Penn Yan youth baseball and softball, $5,081 for Penn Yan youth lacrosse, $5,000 for Yates Community Center youth recreation and $4,500 for a Pennsylvania Yankee Theatre Co. summer drama camp. Smaller awards support libraries in Branchport, Dundee and Rushville; summer recreation in Dundee, Jerusalem and Penn Yan; Safe Harbors of the Finger Lakes; The Living Well Mission; Catholic Charities Steuben/Yates; the Saunders Finger Lakes Museum; and Penn Yan youth basketball.
The legislative chair was also authorized to sign the annual update to the county's child and family services plan, which covers November 2024 through October 2029 and is submitted to the state Office of Children and Family Services. The resolution allows the social services commissioner to make technical changes if the state requests them.
The Legislature revised its administrative guide for unpaid leave. Department heads may approve up to five consecutive working days without pay when an employee has no appropriate paid leave available and meets conditions involving advance notice, staffing needs and attendance. Nonconsecutive requests will be reviewed over a rolling 12-month period, with human resources consultation required beginning with a third request. Longer nonprotected requests must move through county administration, a standing committee and the full Legislature. The policy preserves separate treatment for legally protected leave, workers' compensation and applicable labor agreements.
Lawmakers authorized the district attorney to fill an assistant district attorney vacancy expected September 25, at an estimated annual cost of no more than $146,055 including benefits and health insurance. They also approved a temporary part-time senior account clerk typist in the Finance Department, capped at $3,200 through December 31, and raised that position's listed hourly rate from $22.70 to $32.32. A separate resolution authorized recruitment for a cleaner vacancy, with an estimated annual cost of $52,945 to $83,421 depending on health coverage; no appointment may occur until the current employee leaves.
Roads, elections and other actions
For the Pre-emption Road bridge replacement over Kashong Creek in Benton, lawmakers authorized up to $10,500 in additional construction-inspection services from Barton & Loguidice. They also increased the City Hill Excavating contract for the separate Pre-emption Road drainage project in Bellona by $10,610.08, to $1,298,610.08, after additional excavation and road-depression repairs.
The county extended a Torrey Landfill leachate hauling and disposal agreement with Magee Transportation Services through August 31, 2027. The rate rises 3.4%, from $149.21 to $154.28 per 1,000 gallons. The Legislature also authorized the Highway Department to sell surplus asphalt millings from Dundee-Himrod Road, Havens Corners Road and North Main Street.
For election operations, the legislative chair was authorized to sign state grant contracts allowing the county Board of Elections to spend $7,987.92 on eligible 2026 election expenses and $5,553.75 on vote-by-mail expenses through March 31, 2027. Lawmakers also approved a county letter supporting a proposed Finger Lakes Land Trust conservation easement on Bruce and Jason Henderson's farm in Milo and Torrey. The easement remains a proposal, not a completed restriction on the land.
The resolutions add $34,539.90 in opioid-settlement revenue and matching Community Services spending, $3,000 from a University of Rochester SOS grant for Community Services office supplies, and $4,957 in public-health grant revenue and spending. The packet does not specify the projects to be paid for with the opioid-settlement allocation.
Lawmakers consented to the October 10 CanLake Ultras running event's use of county roads, contingent on required insurance, legal review and liability documents. They also recognized Sheriffs' Week, Suicide Prevention Month and Recovery Month, and adopted proclamations marking Patriot Day and the Air Force and Navy birthdays. The suicide-prevention resolution points residents to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for immediate support.
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