RAMONA, Okla. — Todd Asbury lives with his family inside Ramona's city limits.
His son and daughter are active in Future Farmers of America (FFA), raising and showing animals, including goats. They have a pen for the goats in their backyard.
But about a month after three new goats arrived for this year's FFA project, a neighbor's complaints brought the police to their house.
Asbury said, "They said I was in violation of city ordinance."
And the goats had to go.
Caney Valley Schools let them move the goats to a pen behind the FFA barn.
Asbury is grateful for the spot. But, he worries without electricity to run heat lamps like in the pen at his home, it won't be warm enough as it gets colder.
He also wonders whether Ramona's ordinance banning farm animals in town is enforceable. He claims the information in the city's ordinance book at city hall appears incomplete.
He said he checked with his state lawmaker, who in turn checked with the Oklahoma Municipal League for requirements, and they pointed to a 1951 state statute requiring, among other things:
"To be an enforceable city ordinance, it must have the date when the city ordinance was passed, the date when it was voted on, and the measure of the vote it also got," said Asbury.
Asbury says he contacted 2 News after going to Ramona's City Hall and finding some, but not all of the information in its municipal binder.
2 News contacted Ramona's City Attorney Alan Gentges. He did not want to do an interview, but let us pass his personal cell number on to Asbury so he could talk to him.
After they spoke, Asbury told us Gentges did not have an opinion on whether the town's ordinance is enforceable. In the meantime, the goats are staying in the pen at the school.
Once this story aired, Asbury heard from his State Senator Julie Daniels, who said ordinances don't have to have a date printed on them to be valid in the city ordinance book.
Here's more on how municipal ordinances work:
Laws regarding municipal ordinances and the codification process to organize the ordinances by topic are laid out in State Statute and are located in Title 11. Copies of the codified ordinances are maintained by the municipal clerk for public use, inspection and examination and a citizen can go directly to their city or town hall to obtain a copy or view an ordinance. If a citizen has questions or concerns about an ordinance, they should reach out directly to their elected municipal officials.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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