COBB COUNTY - A request to establish a full-time veterinarian and veterinarian technician at the Cobb County Animal Shelter is expected to be approved during Tuesday's Cobb County Board of Commissioners meeting, though a code amendment requiring landlords to obtain a business license will most likely be put on hold.

According to Cobb police officer and animal control spokesman Nathan McCreary, a veterinarian at the animal shelter will help to control stray populations and will also save those adopting animals at the shelter up to almost $300.

"Currently, adoption families are required to sign a form that requires them to have the animal spayed or neutered with a certain time frame. There is a large non compliance issue that requires control officers to attempt to track the families down to enforce compliance. We often can't find the families or the animals are returned to the shelter by the families due to the expense or inconvenience," McCreary said. "The overpopulation of animals and the number of homeless pets needs to be controlled. We believe this program will go a long way in minimizing the amount of homeless pets in our county and assist in controlling the overpopulation issue."

Before the veterinarians would be practicing in October, the costs of adopting an animal from the shelter will remain at $40 for all dogs older than 1 year, $30 for puppies younger than 1 year, and $35 for cats older than 1 and $30 for kittens younger than 1. Once the veterinarians are hired and begin spaying and neutering shelter animals up for adoption, the cost of adopting a dog or cat will rise to $110, regardless of age.

McCreary said that even though the cost of adoption will rise by up to $80, adopting a spayed or neutered animal for $110 will save residents money.

"A random survey showed the costs of having an animal spayed or neutered vary from $125 to $400. Having the animals spayed or neutered in-house will save taxpayers money as the number of homeless pets being sheltered at animal control is reduced," McCreary said.

McCreary said salaries have not yet been set for the veterinarians, but that "compensation will be competitive against the industry standard and based on experience, education and additional certificates they may hold."

One item that is not expected to be passed, according to Chairman Sam Olens, is a proposed amendment to the county's code that would require all Cobb residents renting or leasing a residential home to obtain an annual business license. As the code stands now, residential leasing is exempted from business license requirements in Cobb.

Last week, county community development director Rob Hosack said the board would have a final hearing then take a vote on the amendment, which he said was the result of complaints received by the commissioners from residents concerned that landlords receive a profit and therefore should be required to obtain a business license. Hosack said the license would cost landlords about $90 a year, and would be enforced by reviewing tax records of those who owned multiple properties but had their tax records sent to a separate address.

But Tricia Clements, whose Powers Ferry Road law firm Lane & Karlo, LLP, represents several investors who own rental properties in Cobb, said the amendment could potentially harm real estate investments in Cobb.

"We still have a lot of questions that have not been answered, and I'm concerned that people aren't going to know about this and could face fines they were never aware they could face," Clements said.

On Friday, Olens said the board would likely not vote on the item during Tuesday evening's meeting.

"There are numerous outstanding legal issues per that revision. I have suggested a delay until March," Olens said, though he would not elaborate on what legal issues the county could face with the amendment changes.

Also on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting is the expected approval of naming park land at the south side of Watts Drive at Dallas Street in Kennesaw. The 7.57 acres of land was purchased by the county through the 2006 Parks Bond Program, and county staff met with Kennesaw Mayor Mark Matthews, City Manager Steve Kennedy and a stakeholders group on February 10 to discuss possible names for the park.

The groups unanimously voted to name the park "Camp McDonald Park" after a training camp that was set up by Georgia Gov. Joseph Brown in 1861 for Georgia military volunteers during the Civil War.

Cobb Department of Transportation Director Faye DiMassimo will present the proposed budget and schedule for the 2005 Transportation Improvements Program (TIP) funded primarily by the 2005 Special Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST.) According to Cobb spokesman Robert Quigley, the board is required to vote each year to adopt the budget and that each budget varies with added or deleted projects. Quigley said DiMassimo will not be releasing the updated budget until it has been presented to the board for consideration on Tuesday, as is the county's typical course of action, but that no projects will be deferred from last year's budget.