An Austin woman will make a case for her dog’s life Monday night.

The Austin City Council will hold a public hearing during its regularly scheduled meeting Monday to appeal a dangerous dog declaration issued to a resident on March 9.

The declaration came after the resident’s pit bull attacked a smaller dog a man was walking past the home, Police Chief Brian Krueger said. The man’s dog died from the attack.

“The owner was served a dangerous dog notification,” Krueger said. “She wants to contest that. She needs to do that in front of the city council.”

If the woman’s appeal is approved, she will be required to provide proper fencing for the dog, obtain an insurance policy for the animal and comply with other mandates, Krueger said.

“There are several hoops she has to go through to keep the dog,” he said. Dangerous dog declarations do not come up often, he added.

The dog will be euthanized if the council does not accept the appeal.

Council to vote on water utility fees increase

Later in the meeting, the council will vote on a resolution to increase the monthly storm water utility fee for residents. If approved, the fee would increase by 60 percent effective July 1, from $2.50 per month to $4.

The hike comes in response to a new financial burden discussed at the council’s March 19 work session after a presentation by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The funds will cover an estimated $17.5 million effort to clean up the Cedar River Watershed. MPCA representatives said the level of pollutants in the watershed would be out of compliance if action were not taken.

“It looks like a severe raise,” Mayor Tom Stiehm said of the utility fee. “But if you average it out over 10 years, it comes out smaller.”

City Engineer Jon Erichson said the increases would only be what is necessary to get by.

“We are addressing all these categories at a minimal level,” he said.

The council would plan for an increase of 15 cents in July each successive year.

 Council will also:

—Consider whether to authorize city staff to install fence posts for a proposed Austin dog park. The move is in response to the efforts of SPARK, which stands for Start a Park for Austin’s Respectable K-9s.

—Decide whether to allow the Planning and Zoning Department to contract the removal of junk and illegally stored vehicles from five Austin properties.

—Hold a work session following the meeting, where it will address several traffic issues and discuss replacing asphalt shingles on Riverside Arena’s roof.