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HomeMy WebLinkAboutASAB Annual Report Work Plan 2016 2017 WORKING DOCUMENT NAME OF BOARD: Animal Services Advisory Board Report Period: 2016-2017 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ANNUAL REPORT/WORK PLAN FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONERS The Board of Commissioners welcomes input from various advisory boards and commissions in preparation for its annual planning retreat. Please complete the following information, limited to the front and back of this form. Other background materials may be provided as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, this form. Board/Commission Name: Animal Services Advisory Board (ASAB) Person to address the BOCC at Work Session—if applicable and contact information: Currently, Maureane Hoffman is the ASAB Chair. Primary County Staff Contact: Bob Marotto, Animal Services Director How many times per month does this board/commission meet, including any special meetings and sub-committee meetings? In 2017, the ASAB will again have a monthly meeting except for the months of July and December. Monthly meetings ensure that there is sufficient time to listen to stakeholders and address issues and concerns in a deliberate and timely manner. The ASAB no longer has a standing committee. It should be noted, however, that three (3) board members serve on the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool. They are responsible for chairing the panels convened to hear appeals under the Unified Animal Ordinance. Since the adoption of ordinance earlier this year, there have been approximately two (2) hearings each month. In addition, task forces are created as needed to address specific issues in greater depth. One of these is looking at community resources for pets belonging to the homeless in coordination with Corey Root, Orange County’s Homelessness Coordinator. Another board task force worked with staff to develop the Pat Sanford Animal Welfare Grant which is now in place. Also, board members will be joining staff on a panel to review grant applications in the month of November. . Brief Statement of Board/Commission’s Assigned Charge and Responsibilities. The ASAB serves as a sounding board for animal-related policy issues raised by residents or identified by the BOCC. Residents are referred to the ASAB as a critical step in any consideration of stakeholder concerns, before bringing an item to the Board of County Commissioners. Also, the ASAB is concerned with the human aspects of animal issues as well as animal welfare. Indeed, one board member is the veterinarian for Orange County Health Board. In addition, the ASAB values and seeks to support the “human-animal bond” and the place of animal companions in in our lives. A special concern is the services needed by disadvantaged and often underserved households. A good illustration is the ASAB’s support for the county’s Community Spay and Neuter Program, which subsidizes cat and dog sterilization for people on public assistance or whose household income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The board has also supported Animal Services in exploring other ways to serve underserved parts of our county. What are your Board/Commission’s most important accomplishments? The ASAB continued to work with staff and stakeholders managing pet overpopulation in Orange County. A notable accomplishment was the approval of the Unified Animal Ordinance (UAO), which includes a differential recovery rate for reproductive versus sterilized stray animals and a microchip requirement for the recovery of stray animals. Given that the ASAB no longer is responsible for appeal hearings, the board and staff have initiated a review of the procedures for the ASAB. Proposed revisions including a number of updates are expected to be forthcoming by the end of 2016. A related initiative is to change ordinance language from “vicious” to “dangerous” which is expected to be forthcoming in a proposed amendment. This initiative arose from the concern of members of the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool that the “vicious” language was alarming to the owners of animals so deemed. They expressed their sense that for this reason alone there were appeals requests that might not otherwise be made. In addition, the board played an important role in creating the Pat Sanford Animal Welfare Grant with a $5,000 donation from the Friends of Orange County Animal. A task force worked with staff to create a concept plan and grant application. Several board members will also sit with staff on the panel that reviews grant applications later in the year. Finally, the ASAB continued to assist the BOCC in ensuring that board vacancies are filled in a timely and effective manner. It routinely makes recommendations to the BOCC based upon interviews with candidates for vacant positions. It also provides each new member with an orientation, which includes an introduction to the board, a review of county policies for boards and commissions, and an overview of Animal Services operations.” List of Specific Tasks, Events, or Functions Performed or Sponsored Annually. In addition to activities mentioned above, the board sometimes hosts partner organizations, and supports the annual Open House, which promotes positive community relations. Describe this board/commission’s activities/accomplishments in carrying out BOCC goal(s)/priorities, if applicable. Work done by the ASAB in coordination with Animal Services staff touches several principles and priorities. Three principles and priorities seem noteworthy with respect to the ASAB in calendar year 2016. These are: Sustainable Services • Supported strategic plan for managing pet overpopulation to control medium and long-term costs. • Concentrated on essential services and supported discussion of developments in the field of animal welfare that could be implemented in Orange County Making County Government Accessible, Understandable and Transparent • Served as a sounding board for stakeholder concerns about animal issues and animal related policies. • Coordinated openly and effectively with the County Manager and BOCC. • Made recommendations to the BOCC regarding various animal issues as well as regarding candidates for board vacancies. • Supported implementation of a unified animal ordinance in order to create more comprehensible regulatory rules for all residents. Advisory Board Roles and Responsibilities • Provided a setting for stakeholder communication about a broad range of animal-related matters • Sustained ASAB by vetting candidates for board vacancies, making recommendations to the BOCC, and conducting orientations for new members If your board/commission played the role of an Element Lead Advisory Board involved in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan preparation process, please indicate your board’s activities/accomplishments as they may relate to the Comprehensive Plan’s goals or objectives. (The Element Lead Advisory Boards include: Planning Board, EDC, OUTBoard, Commission for the Environment, Historic Preservation Commission, Agriculture Preservation Board, Affordable Housing Board, Recreation and Parks Advisory Council) Not applicable. Identify any activities this board/commission expects to carry out in 2016 as they relate to established BOCC goals and priorities. If applicable, is there a fiscal impact (i.e., funding, staff time, other resources) associated with these proposed activities (please list). The ASAB expects to be especially concerned with several areas in the coming year. These are: Sustainable Services • Working within a plan to managing pet overpopulation with special emphasis on free-roaming cats. • Supporting essential services and exploring emergent trends in the field of animal welfare and how they fit in Orange County; • Supporting effective partnerships with other organizations Making County Government Accessible, Understandable and Transparent • Serving as a sounding board for various issues and policy concerns. • Coordinating with staff to inform the County Manager and the BOCC of strategic initiatives and significant policy considerations • Conducting research and making policy and/or program recommendations to the BOCC as needed Advisory Board Roles and Responsibilities • Provide a setting for stakeholder communication about animal- related matters • Providing leadership to the appeal hearing panels by having three (3) board members be part of the Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool and chair the hearing panels • Recommend ASAB applicants to the BOCC and orient new members to the role and responsibility of the advisory board. • Supporting the Pat Sanford Animal Welfare Grant with board members serving along with staff on the annual grant application review panel. What are the concerns or emerging issues your board has identified for the upcoming year that it plans to address, or wishes to bring to the Commissioners’ attention? Managing Pet Overpopulation: The board will work with staff to begin to implement the five (5) year plan for managing free roaming cats. An important component of this effort will be exploring mutually beneficial relations with county farms and other rural residents. These discussions started with a recent presentation to the Agricultural Preservation Board and will continue with discussions with Agricultural Extension staff and possibly members of Ruritan Clubs and the Grange. Notably, the implementation of the plan to manage free roaming cats has been deferred more than a year due to the effort involved in implementing the Unified Animal Ordinance. However, it remains critical to effectively managing pet overpopulation in Orange County in the long run. In addition, the board will work with staff to ensure that organizational forms and practices responsible for the county’s success in managing over population are recognized, supported and extended into the future. Exploring New Frontiers: The board will continue to work with staff to consider the cutting edge developments for Orange County. These include efforts such as Pets for Life oriented toward supporting pet ownership in underserved parts of the county and related efforts seeking to reduce animal intakes. Critical to this effort may be partnerships with neighborhood groups and community centers. Pets of the Homeless: Working with the county’s Homelessness Coordinator to identify community resources that can be tapped to help care for pets belonging to the homeless as they undergo different transitions. This has been a perplexing problem for Animal Services to deal with on its own and there is a strong sense that a broad based approach is the most successful way to find solutions to what are very stressful situations. School Partnerships: Continue to work with staff to explore opportunities to collaborate with the schools to promote responsible pet ownership among future generations of county residents. One is to create stronger relationships with school social workers to promote subsidized spay and neuter for pets. Finalized Nov. 2, 2016 (BM, WP, MH)