Bill Kling - District 4
Bill Kling is an animal lover who loves all species of animals. He was the proud owner of a wonderful mixed breed dog for 18 years and was active in turtle rescue and rehabilitation.
The City of Huntsville website has the following information about District 4 City Council Member Bill Kling:
Bill has spoken at city council meetings about his support for more family friendly hours at Huntsville Animal Services to better serve the public and help reduce the number of animals in the shelter at any given time.
Bill's Facebook page is at this link.
The City of Huntsville website has the following information about District 4 City Council Member Bill Kling:
- Bill Kling, Jr., was born and raised in Huntsville. He was elected to the Huntsville Board of Education in 1984, elected to the city council in 1988, and re-elected since. Mr. Kling was twice elected city council president.
- Mr. Kling received a B.S. degree in Mass Media Communications and Public Administration from the University of Alabama and a M.S. degree in Urban studies from Alabama A&M University.
- Mr. Kling has held numerous positions in the broadcast and public relations fields including public relations director, radio announcer and newscaster for a public radio station, and broadcast instructor and public relations specialist for John C. Calhoun Junior College.
Bill has spoken at city council meetings about his support for more family friendly hours at Huntsville Animal Services to better serve the public and help reduce the number of animals in the shelter at any given time.
Bill's Facebook page is at this link.
Candidate Survey Responses
We spoke with Mr. Kling by phone to get his responses to the survey. The answers below are paraphrased from our conversation.
Issue 1: Would you support more family friendly hours at HAS to make the operation more accessible to the
public toward having the fewest number of animals in the building at any given time?
Response: Councilman Kling told us he has always believed that the shelter hours should be more family friendly to make it easier for people to get to the shelter to reclaim a lost pet or adopt a new pet. He supports the shelter opening later and then being open later hours during the workweek and hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
Issue 2: If re-elected to city council, would you invite Dr. Sheppard or a representative of HAS to speak with your constituents to help them and reduce shelter intake?
Response: Councilman Kling said he would most certainly invite Dr. Sheppard or a senior representative of the shelter to his meetings. He said his meetings are less structured than in other districts because he wants to both convey information and provide information.
Issue 3: Would you promote or support HAS developing a more detailed plan to reduce the percentage of dog deaths due to behavior issues with the help of a consultant or expert?
Response: Councilman Kling said he supports any measures which help keep animals alive and keep them from being destroyed unless they present a genuine public safety risk. He acknowledged that the shelter environment is nothing like the lives and homes most dogs have know prior to entering the shelter and that the manner in which they are housed can cause fear-based behaviors and cause them to degrade over time if not provided with sufficient exercise and enrichment.
Issue 4: Would you support the idea of a metro shelter facility as part of future plans for the city?
Response: The short answer is yes. Councilman Kling thought it also might be possible to construct a more modern facility better suited to life-saving in a location further north than the current shelter location and the existing facility could be used for some other purpose such as to house dogs with behavior issues while working with those dogs to help them get adopted.
Issue 5: Would you support adoption of the provisions of the HAPA to ensure the city maintains the progress achieved to date at HAS and does not revert to old operating methods?
Response: Councilman Kling supports enacting the remaining provisions of the HAPA to codify progress achieved to date and make it clear how the city will function moving forward regardless of who leads the city as elected officials and regardless of who is the department head for Huntsville Animal Services.
Issue 1: Would you support more family friendly hours at HAS to make the operation more accessible to the
public toward having the fewest number of animals in the building at any given time?
Response: Councilman Kling told us he has always believed that the shelter hours should be more family friendly to make it easier for people to get to the shelter to reclaim a lost pet or adopt a new pet. He supports the shelter opening later and then being open later hours during the workweek and hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
Issue 2: If re-elected to city council, would you invite Dr. Sheppard or a representative of HAS to speak with your constituents to help them and reduce shelter intake?
Response: Councilman Kling said he would most certainly invite Dr. Sheppard or a senior representative of the shelter to his meetings. He said his meetings are less structured than in other districts because he wants to both convey information and provide information.
Issue 3: Would you promote or support HAS developing a more detailed plan to reduce the percentage of dog deaths due to behavior issues with the help of a consultant or expert?
Response: Councilman Kling said he supports any measures which help keep animals alive and keep them from being destroyed unless they present a genuine public safety risk. He acknowledged that the shelter environment is nothing like the lives and homes most dogs have know prior to entering the shelter and that the manner in which they are housed can cause fear-based behaviors and cause them to degrade over time if not provided with sufficient exercise and enrichment.
Issue 4: Would you support the idea of a metro shelter facility as part of future plans for the city?
Response: The short answer is yes. Councilman Kling thought it also might be possible to construct a more modern facility better suited to life-saving in a location further north than the current shelter location and the existing facility could be used for some other purpose such as to house dogs with behavior issues while working with those dogs to help them get adopted.
Issue 5: Would you support adoption of the provisions of the HAPA to ensure the city maintains the progress achieved to date at HAS and does not revert to old operating methods?
Response: Councilman Kling supports enacting the remaining provisions of the HAPA to codify progress achieved to date and make it clear how the city will function moving forward regardless of who leads the city as elected officials and regardless of who is the department head for Huntsville Animal Services.
