Cherokee County Council may be meeting at a new time today but it will consider an old issue — an amendment to its animal shelter policies.

The change is expected to reflect the recent Attorney General's Office opinion that frees Cherokee County from liability for ensuring an animal has been sterilized after its release from the county-operated shelter.

Currently, strays that are too young or under weight to be sterilized are killed after a minimum 5-day holding period.

The Humane Society wants to assume the liability of placing the puppies into foster care until they are mature enough to be sterilized. County officials, on the other hand, believe that state law makes the county liable for paying a $200 penalty if the animal is not sterilized.

The attorney general sided with the Humane Society's interpretation.

"That ruling was great news for us and great news for the Humane Society," Belue has said.

Judy Wyles, president of the Cherokee County Humane Society, has said she's encouraged by the new spirit of cooperation between the parties.

"The county wants us to be (at the animal shelter) and we want to be at the (animal shelter)," she said. "This gives us more freedom to put the animals into foster care."

The council meeting has been moved from its normal starting time of 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The meeting once again will be held at the local branch campus of Spartanburg Community College.