Using no-nonsense terms, South Portland city councilors discussed tougher laws for dogs on Willard Beach, including increasing beach patrols, issuing fines and banning unruly dogs from the city’s popular beach.

“Many of the problems stem from packs of dogs on Willard Beach,” said Councilor Maxine Beecher about existing rules that allow dogs to roam off leash.

Councilor Tom Blake said that just as toddlers learn there are consequences for misbehavior, problem dogs should lose the privilege of being allowed on the beach. Blake suggested a two strikes-and-you’re-out policy that would ban dogs from the beach for repeatedly failing to heed the voice command of their owners.

Monday night’s workshop meeting marked a decidedly different tone from previous City Council meetings, where debate focused on whether changes were needed at all to existing laws that let residents walk dogs in the early morning – from 6-9 a.m. – in the spring and summer and all day off season.

Four of the seven councilors met in the workshop to review recommendations by a task force for regulating dog walking at the beach. The task force recommendations call for better enforcement of existing laws and better education of dog owners. But councilors seemed to indicate that the recommendations need to be strengthened and refined.

Absent from the discussion were Mayor Jim Soule and outgoing councilors Kay Loring and Claude Morgan, whose district includes Willard Beach. Patti Smith, who was just elected to fill Loring’s seat in District 2, listened to the proceedings from the audience.

No vote was taken at the workshop, which was attended by about 20 members of the public and councilors Blake, Beecher, Linda Boudreau and Jim Hughes.

Although discussion of leash laws and pet policies typically draws a lot of dog owners, the show of force Monday night was from Save Willard Beach, a newly formed group of residents lobbying to tighten pet access laws or ban dogs altogether from the shore.

Dan LaBrie and Gary Crosby, the group’s leaders, took front-row seats at the meeting. Also present were Beach Street residents Devon and Steve Gray, outspoken critics of laws allowing pets to run off-leash at the beach.

Crystal Goodrich, president of the South Portland Dog Owners Group, also was present. Afterward, Goodrich said she was disappointed that there was not more discussion on educating the public about existing laws regarding dog walking on the beach.

“I feel that education is the cornerstone,” Goodrich said.

City Manager Jim Gailey opened the meeting by saying that the City Council should not expect to review all 11 recommendations in one workshop but plan to meet over the course of at least two meetings.

He also noted that the Council would allow brief public comments, a departure from usual policy that prohibits the audience from speaking at workshops.

The councilors agreed with the task force recommendation to increase enforcement at Willard Beach. Members suggested that at the very least, the animal control officer’s shift should be adjusted to coincide with the early morning hours dog walkers are on the beach in the spring and summer.

Blake warned that ideas for deputizing citizens to patrol the beach could lead to problems. He said that inexperienced officers should not be issuing summonses to residents whose dogs are unruly. He said the city should be able to tap the city’s patrol officers for the work.

Blake also questioned whether the city should increase the hours of the animal control officer, who covers Cape Elizabeth as well as South Portland. But Gailey explained that most of the officer’s time already is spent in South Portland, except to answer calls for help in Cape Elizabeth.

Beecher and other councilors also made it clear that they are reluctant to add any costs to the city budget for dog patrols unless they are borne by fees assessed from people who use the beach to walk their pets. Beecher said that with looming budget cuts at the state level, she expects to see greater need at South Portland schools.

“Do I want to spend money on a police officer for dog issues or on kids having special education help?”

Boudreau said members should stay “budget neutral” unless a fee system is established for dog walkers. But she also said tougher enforcement is needed at the beach. “We need someone down there taking names,” she said.

Blake noted that new rules should include language that allows enforcement officers to order dog owners to prove their animal is under voice control. He said dog owners should have to show that a pet can obey commands.

He noted that by the time an animal control officer responds to a complaint and arrives on the scene, the dog may no longer be engaged in problem behavior, such as acting aggressively or barking incessantly.

Beecher said the city should implement a fine system that starts with a warning, then penalizes people with a $50 fine for the first offense and $75 for the second.

But resident Devon Gray, speaking during the public comment period, said the fines should be stiffer – $250 for the first infraction, $750 for the second and loss of beach privileges for the third.

“I repeatedly hear people laugh” when they are warned about not following the rules, she said.

She also said that the City Council needs to emphasize with judges in Portland that it is serious about its rules regarding pet behavior on the beach. Gray said she heard that a Portland judge threw out a complaint that was issued to a dog owner who failed to obey existing rules for dogs to be under voice command at Willard Beach.

“There is a need to educate judges on our laws,” she said.

Steve Gray echoed her comments, adding that the expensive clothing many dog walkers wear indicates to him that they would ignore less costly fines than the ones his wife, Devon, proposed.

“Fines need to be stiff to be effective,” he said.

But resident Debbie Kimball urged the City Council to keep fines reasonable. She said that “people are losing their jobs” in this tough economy and “will respect and recognize” a fine system.

Resident John Murphy said he sees the answer as requiring dogs to be leashed at all times. Kimball said he does not see how an animal control officer can keep a rambunctious dog from making unwanted approaches to people or out of the playground or sand dunes.

Pet owner Peggy Stewart said her yellow lab will not listen to her commands, if he has his sights set on an errant French fry someone dropped on the beach.

Stewart said a more reasonable approach by the Council would be to require people to leash pets that are not responding to voice commands, instead of trying to punish the dogs by banning them from the beach.

“You need to put more of the burden on the owner,” she said. “The animal doesn’t know or care that there is a new ordinance on the books.”