The Noel City Council voted Tuesday night to shut down the Animal Control, Nuisance and Abatement Department.

Alderman Jim Boston made a motion to shut down the dog pound, saying the town cannot afford it. Alderman Allie Peck seconded the motion. After some discussion, Boston amended his motion to doing away with the entire department. The motion was approved, with Alderman Vivian Brooks abstaining.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, Roy Vlaovich questioned who is going to take care of nuisance buildings, overgrown yards and roaming dogs.

Mayor Lewis Davis commented that the marshal's office has the authority to deal with dogs.

Marshal Paul Gardner said the average call to his office takes an hour to complete, and there is only one officer on duty at a time.

"We have the authority to do nuisance/abatement (but) it's going to be a load," he said. "I would counsel the council to consider the nuisance/abatement officer."

The council held a closed session to discuss the matter further. Following the closed session, Animal Control, Nuisance and Abatement Officer Rusty DeMoss said he was out of a job.

"They said, 'We just can't afford it,'" he said.

In other business, the council heard department reports.

Street Superintendent Christopher Craig reported he is having a hard time running the department alone since losing his employee. Davis said the city has received a couple of applications and will try to make a decision soon.

"It does have its advantages for saving money, but things are suffering because of it," Craig noted.

Fire Chief Brandon Barrett reported the Fire Department's ladder truck is out of service, but the problem is something the city can fix. He also reported he has had a few new firefighters come in since the City Council approved raising the firefighters' pay to $6 an hour. The department has been up to 12 firefighters for about a month, he said.

Gardner reported there was a mishap with one of the police cars and the left rear muffler got twisted. He said the department has answered 654 calls so far this year, only counting calls assigned case numbers. Counting all calls the department answers, it would be about quadruple that number, he said.