International Falls council delay final decision on deer feeding ban.

Municipal legislation regarding the feeding of deer in International Falls will get further review.

The city has defined an area where it would be prohibited.

Councillor Tim Wegner wants more discussion on enforcement.

“I would like to move this back to Committee of the Whole before we move forward to define the process for the ordinance, give us a chance to look at who’s going to enforce this, the PD or someone else within the city,” says Wegner.

“That’s the biggest hang-up right now with the ordinance; everything else is ready.”

The ordinance states that any employee authorized by the city, International Falls Police, or other law enforcement agency would be permitted to investigate.

It also proposes a fine of $50 for anyone found to be violating the ordinance, with additional fines or charges imposed on repeat offenders.

The city started discussing a feeding ban in response to complaints about the number of deer in the community.

Mayor Drake Dill says the ordinance is needed before any further measures can be taken.

“It has been indicated to us that we can’t reach out, for example, if we wanted to exterminate deer or have the DNR come in and remove them or any other processes, until the city has an ordinance on the books,” says Dill.

Previous councils had looked into allowing a deer hunt to reduce the number of deer.

Dill says options for such a hunt are limited and would likely have very little impact.

City council review is expected to come during a meeting early in the new year.