Manteno enters into agreement with county for animal control

MANTENO – For the past 25 years animal control in Manteno was handled by Gary Baughan, a part-time employee of the village.

It’s now the end of an era of animal control in Manteno.

Baughan, 79, retired about a month ago, so the the village board approved a resolution on Monday for an intergovernmental agreement between Kankakee County and the village of Manteno for animal control services.

The county will provide the animal control, which is overseen by the sheriff’s department, for $6,000 per year.

Kankakee County’s animal control will respond from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We can call them out if there’s a special emergency,” said Chris LaRocque, village administrator.

The Manteno Police Department will reach out to KanComm. In some instances the police department might be able to handle the call on its own.

“[Animal Control] has the same agreement with other municipalities in the county, so this agreement is the same thing,” LaRocque said.

With Manteno on board, the county now has six animal control agreements, including with Aroma Park, Grant Park, Bourbonnais, Chebanse and Buckingham.

Sheriff Mike Downey noted the department will respond to service calls to other communities which do not have a contract with the department.

However, he said those communities – notably Kankakee, Bradley, Herscher and Momence – will be billed on a per-call basis.

Baughan was presented a plaque commemorating 25 years as Manteno’s animal control officer in August at a village board meeting.

Board member Diane Dole said Baughan will be missed.

“He came to my house before to get a squirrel out of the fireplace,” she said. “And that was on Thanksgiving, so it was like a big deal. He’s a great guy, and this change was both cost effective and the best alternative in lieu of hiring a new employee.”

Baughan worked part time, but was provided a truck by the village to do the job.

“Overall this [agreement] will be about half of what it was costing the village,” LaRocque said.

LaRocque realizes that Baughan did a lot more than he was probably required to do by the village when it came to handling animal issues residents encountered.

“Those kind of guys are hard to find, so this is the next best option,” he said.

The intergovernmental agreement will begin as soon as the mayor signs off on the resolution, and it will likely begin later this month, LaRocque said.