NORWICH – Come the first of the year, the licensing of dogs in New York State will no longer be the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture and Markets; the task will now reside with local municipal clerks.

After performing the job for more than two decades, the Department of Agriculture and Markets announced in August that local towns, villages and cities would have to pick up the tab and the duties associated with all aspects of dog licensing.

North Norwich Town Clerk Loretta L. Smith, who’s also president of the recently-formed Chenango County Municipal Clerk’s Association, said the reinvention of the group was primarily set in motion by the shifting of dog licensing responsibilities.

“This whole issue of dog licenses is what brought us all together to reform and reorganize. The issue was kind of dropped in our laps in mid-August,” said Smith.

New York State currently recommends an annual licensing fee of $2.50 for a neutered/spayed dog and $10.50 for an unspayed/unneutered dog. Of that amount, the state keeps $1 and $3 per dog, respectively, and distributes the remainder to the counties, which in turn, distribute it among local municipalities. Smith said Ag & Markets would continue to collect the associated fees to promote population control programs in the state.

Smith said the changes in responsibility would be unnoticed by dog owners in some areas and obvious to others, depending on what town they reside in. Chenango County’s 21 towns currently charge a variety of rates for dog licenses.

Owners in the Town of Greene, for example, will see no change in the cost of licensing their animals with the standing fee of $8 for a spayed or neutered dog and a $16 fee for non-spayed or neutered animals.

The towns of Norwich, Pharsalia and Preston set their fees at the state required minimum of $2.50 for a spayed or neutered dog and $10.50 for a non-spayed or neutered dog, collecting no administration fee in the past.

Norwich Town Clerk Martha Vidler said the municipality is raising its rates to pay for the costs associated with issuing town created licenses, saying the cost would rise to $7 and $14, respectively. Owners in the Town of North Norwich will see small rise in fees, from $5 and $13 to $8 and $15.

Another difference between each municipality is how many dogs they are responsible for registering.

Town of Greene Clerk Deborah L. Thomas said the town currently has about 3,000 registered dogs in its computer system. Vidler said the Town of Norwich has about 600. The Norwich Police Department reports the City of Norwich has about 900 registered dogs.