City Council Preview for Jan 17 - Pet Update

Yesterday we discussed some of the agenda items for Tuesday’s meeting. Today we’ll focus on the pet issues.

SHELTER PAYMENT

Last year Councilmen Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson voted to stay with Orange County Animal Shelter (OCAC) and not to pursue a local no-kill animal shelter option. They voted to stay with OCAC despite the despicable track record of OCAC with multiple Grand Jury investigations, a history of providing false information about euthanasia rates and license compliance, and the highest kill ratio of any shelter in Orange County. Four cities recently left OCAC to develop their own service or to partner with an existing service. Along with San Juan, we are the only City in South Orange County to use OCAC.

The County is building a new shelter in Tustin and they are requiring each City to contribute to building this shelter, but no City will have any equity in the new shelter. In addition, no City will benefit from the sale or use of the land where the old shelter is housed once it is vacant.

Lake Forest will pay more than $600,000 as our “share” of the costs. The check will be set to be approved at the Council meeting. We didn't have to pay this amount if we had decided to use a local Veterinarian pet hospital, but Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson voted to stay with the County.

(FWIW - for their loyalty to the County, Voigts, Hamilton, and Robinson are endorsed by the County officials whenever they run for office. County officials lobbied forcefully for Lake Forest to stay with the County. Lake Forest residents lobbied forcefully for the City to leave the County)

PET LICENSE FEES

The Council recently decided to reduce the fees for dog licenses from $27 to $20 per year for an altered dog, and to offer a 50% reduction in license fees for senior citizens with an altered dog. If approved, this change will take effect on March 1, 2017. Staff anticipates that this change will shift the burden of some $30,000 to $45,000 per year from dog owners to the general fund.

Not yet determined is whether or not we should reduce the exorbitant late fees and whether or not we should offer multi-year fees. Also the Council has not considered the many other fees charged by OCAC (e.g., business fees, dog bite investigations). Staff is researching this area and will report back for discussion during the budget process. Any reduction in these fees will mean that the General Fund will pick up the difference.

OCAC UPDATES

For years, the Council has operated in the dark with respect to what happens to our pets. Council woman Basile and I got consent to discuss monthly updates so that we know what’s happening. These updates can apply to the policy decisions as well as the operations. Here are some data I am interested in receiving on a monthly basis with six-month summaries -

• How many licenses were issued (including for what purposes and whether or not they are new or renewals)
• How many animals were euthanized (including what kind of animal it was, and why it was euthanized. This data should also include the age of the animal since OCAC does not normally include newly born puppies and kittens in their calculations)
• How many animals were adopted (including what kind of animal it was.)
• How many animals were transferred (including what kind of animal it was and what agency or rescue group took the animal)
• How many animals were admitted (including what kind of animal it was, spayed or neutered, and why it was admitted e.g., picked up a stray, owner surrender).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a Town Hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be in February at the Foothill Ranch Public Library.