HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Spay Neuter Report 01_2010aea' eeva�a
n e
Orange County Animal Services
1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
919 - 942 -PETS (7387)
X TirC�7
To: Frank Clifton, County Manager
From: Bob Marotto, Director of Animal Services
Date: January 19, 2010
The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) created The Community Spay
Neuter Fund in FY0708 on the basis of a $20 increase in the pet registration fee
(or pet tax) for intact (or reproductive) dogs and cats in Orange County. As can
be seen from the attached memorandum requesting its creation, the purpose of
the fund is to promote spay and neuter of animal companions and thereby
reduce the number of animals euthanized as a result of pet overpopulation.
Since the creation of this fund, Animal Services staff has worked with the Animal
Services Advisory Board (ASAB) to begin to establish a proactive and cost -
effective program for spay and neuter in Orange County. During calendar year
2009 there were several significant developments in this area:
More than 200 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered through Orange
County's $20 Fix, a program based upon a partnership with AnimalKind
The attached chart shows the program achievements for this
"breakthrough" year;
Effective collaboration with the Department of Social Services (DSS) to
promote spay and neuter services for their clientele continued during
these extraordinarily challenging economic times. Ninety -two (92) of the
residents who had their dogs and cats sterilized through the $20 Fix
Program were DSS clients;
The BOCC authorized the transfer of $20,000 from the Community Spay
Neuter Fund in order to outfit the in -house sterilization suite at the
County's new Animal Services Center. In -house spay/ neuter started in
mid - December 2009, and as of mid - January 2010, all adoptable surgeries
• - - •'
Januaty 19,2010
Page 2
will be done in -house (and more cost- effectively, as part of the
department's FY0910 budget);
The County's Financial Services Department created a Special Revenue
Fund (attached) for Community Spay Neuter Program in order to establish
the basis for the effective long -term budgeting needed to manage pet
overpopulation in the decade.
Activities for the whole of FY0910 are not limited to completing and presenting a
strategic plan for managing pet overpopulation to the BOCC. Other activities
include:
• Requesting that the BOCC again resolve (as it has for the last two years)
that Feb. 23, 2010 is Spay (& Neuter) Day in Orange County;
• Organizing the sterilization of cats belonging to some DSS clients around
the theme of "Beat the Heat" in conjunction with Spay (& Neuter) Day;
• Promoting spay and neuter and making qualified residents aware of
Orange County's $20 Fix;
• Developing an agreement with Pet Overpopulation Patrol, North Carolina,
a mobile spay /neuter suite, to provide low -cost spay and neuter to Orange
County residents and for special events, e.g., Spay (& Neuter) Day.
Going forward, staff expects to report out annually on the Community Spay
Neuter Fund for each fiscal year. Nevertheless, it seemed appropriate and
beneficial to do so at this time as the BOCC prepares to receive and review
Managing Pet Overpopulation: A Strategic Plan for Orange County, North
Carolina.
Cc: Gwendolyn Harvey, Assistant County Manager
Jean Austen, JD, Chair, Animal Services Advisory Board
Attachments: 3
Orange County Animal Services
501 W. Franklin St, Suite 106, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 968 -2287
To: Donna Coffey, Budget Director, Orange County
From: Bob Marotto, Director, Orange County Animal Services
Date: April 10, 2007
Subject: Creating a Community Spay/Neuter Fund from Licensing Fee Increase
In light of our very productive discussion of fee increases with the Animal Services Advisory Board
(ASAB), staff is proposing that a portion of the increased license fee for intact animals be dedicated to
promoting spaying and neutering in Orange County. More specifically, our proposal is that some or all of
the $20 increase for the license fee for intact animals —which the ASAB recommended be increased from
$10 to $30 —be placed in a dedicated and accruing fund that is separate from the Animal Service
Department operating budget.
It is estimated that between $40,000 and $50,000 will accrue from the proposed license fee increase for
intact animals. This estimate is based upon the fact that in the last calendar year 2039 licenses were issued
for intact animals in Orange County (inclusive of its towns) and for calendar year 2005 that number was
2447. Our estimate assumes that the level of compliance with the County's licensing requirement
remains unchanged in future years (although it should be said that strategies are being developed to
increase that level of compliance).
With regard to financial support for this proposal, one option is to dedicate all funds from an increased
license fee for intact animals to a fund available solely for the spaying and neutering of cats, dogs and
other animal companions in Orange County. This option is supported by the ASAB, which at its March
meeting unanimously voted in favor of the dedicated use of all such funds. Of course, another option is to
dedicate a specific portion or percentage of funds, say, fifty (50).or seventy -five (75) percent of the sum
total of funds due to the increase in the license fee for intact animals. While there is a definite need to
dedicate all such funds in a progressive community spay /neuter effort, the latter option allows for the
creation of a substantial fund in the event that it is determined that some increased income related to the
license fee for intact animals must be used to offset operating costs.
With regard to fund utilization, one option is to financially support the spaying and neutering of cats, dogs
and other animal companions in Orange County, and to do so with regard to the demonstrated financial
need of pet owners. This option is supported by the ASAB, which at its March meeting unanimously
voted in favor of such fund usage, stressing the desirability of focusing their use on community members
of limited means. Thus funds would be used to support low -cost spay and neuter programs, whether these
were pursued solely by the Animal Services Department or in partnership with other organizations.
Another option is to define the scope of use of these funds more broadly and flexibly under a fund
heading such as Pet Overpopulation Management Fund. In this scenario, funds could and would be used
to support low -cost spay and neuter programs, but the use of funds would not be limited to the costs of
surgical procedures for spaying and neutering companion animals. Instead, funds could be used for the
Spay/Neuter Fund Proposal
April IOth, 2007
Page 2
promotion of spaying and neutering in the form of outreach materials and /or a marketing campaign as
well as some temporary staff support for such outreach and education.
As I believe you are aware, our Animal Sheltering Division budget currently includes a substantial
expenditure line item for spaying and neutering. As important as these funds are to our operation and
mission, however, they are not presently utilized for a positive and proactive program (or programs) that
can address pet overpopulation as a community problem. Thus resources from the proposed fund would
augment our present spay /neuter activities which are integral to but at the same time limited to our
adoption program.
More specifically, the funds in our current budget are committed to ensuring that the animals that we
directly adopt from the County's Animal Shelter are spayed and neutered prior to their adoption so that
they do not contribute to the problem of pet overpopulation in our community, a very fundamental
commitment to progressive sheltering and animal services. Currently, they are used to cover the cost of
off -site surgeries that are performed by veterinary clinics with whom we contract for these services.
It should also be noted that it will be necessary to redefine the use of these funds when we move into the
County's new Animal Services facility at the end of 2008. Specifically, pre- adoption sterilization will
actually be done within that facility, as it will contain a suite for the spaying and neutering of animals that
are adopted to members of the general public (and conceivably on some cost recovery basis for animals
transferred to various placement partners). To operate effectively within the new facility, indeed, we will
need to directly staff as well as provide effective oversight for our own surgical operations, and our need
will be to cover these costs rather than the costs presently incurred for off -site sterilization surgeries.
In conclusion, the creation of the proposed fund would be a very proactive step toward addressing the
problem of pet overpopulation in Orange County. In the longer run, this is desirable not only from a
humane perspective but in helping to reduce the number of animals that need to be sheltered and the costs
of sheltering unwanted animals in our communities. Pertinent in this respect is that a successful
comprehensive strategy of this kind may help to ensure that the County's new animal services facility has
a sufficient animal capacity for a longer period of time. In this as well as other regards, the creation of the
proposed fund may be regarded as a very wise investment of available funds.
Cc: Gwen Harvey, Assistant County Manager
Kristine Bergstrand, DVM, Chair, Animal Services Advisory Board
Community Spay /Neuter
Orange County, North Carolina
Calendar Year
® Dogs
❑ Cats
®Total
Community Spay /Neuter Fund
thru FY
FY 2009 -10
Account#
Revenue:
2008 -09
Budget
Total Budget
38215001 - 400040
Licensing
27,000
27,000
38215005 - 433808
I -Care
2,000
2,000
38215001 - 470001
Sale of Fixed Asset (Vehicle)
4,000
4,000
38215001 - 476003
Donations
0
0
38215009 - 489906
Transfer from General Fund
48,798
48,798
Total
48,798
33,000
81,798
Expenditures:
38215020 - 630000
Contract Services (Animal Kind)
15,000
15,000
30,000
38215020 - 620000
Department Supplies
2,298
1,500
3,798
38215020 - 629010
I -Care ($20 Fix)
5,500
4,500
10,000
38215020- 600000
Advertising
5,000
4,000
9,000
38215020- 629011
Spay /Neuter Day
5,000
4,000
9,000
38215020- 910005
Transfer to County Capital Fund
16,000
4,000
20,000
Total
48,798
33,000
81,798