Animal control plan has benefits, study says
San Joaquin County considers partnership with Stockton
Dogs await possible adoption at
Stockton’s animal shelter. A new report says a more regional approach to
animal control could save taxpayer dollars while boosting officer
resources. Some question the study’s accuracy, however.CLIFFORD OTO/The Record
STOCKTON - All but one of the seven cities in
San Joaquin County have balked at the idea of pooling resources to
create a countywide system for animal control.
But
a partnership between the city of Stockton and county government could
still form the foundation for a more regional approach to animal control
that could, from the outset, save taxpayer dollars while reducing the
number of stray dogs and cats killed in the county, according to
Stockton's Animal Protection League, an animal advocacy group
commissioned by the county.
At its meeting
this week, the county Board of Supervisors stopped short of voting to
authorize staff to develop a joint powers authority with the city. But
the board directed its consultant to meet with other animal advocates,
to continue gathering information and to come back early in the new
year.
"Please all get together and talk this over so
we can come to a realistic and compassionate answer," board Chairman
Larry Ruhstaller said.
Such a plan could put
more animal control officers in the field, offer programs that will help
push down the number of animals killed and allow the construction of a
joint shelter to replace the outdated and inadequate shelter currently
used by the agencies, said Tammie Murrell, director of the Animal
Protection League and a former Stockton deputy police chief. "That, we
believe, will not only improve services ... but improve euthanasia rates
... and improve the care of the animals," she said.
About
$7.6 million would be needed to build a new shelter. Before a shelter
is built, however, Murrell said the merging of the two agencies would
bring other benefits, including ways to cut down euthanasia through an
adoption and foster program, spaying and neutering services, humane
education and use of volunteers.
Because of
the economy of scale, an in-house veterinarian and a licensing unit to
bring in revenue, Murrell said the plan could shave about $430,000 from
city and county operating costs that were a little more than $2 million
in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
The plan allows
for other cities to opt in at some future point. Since August, Lodi,
Manteca and Escalon have shown interest in one or two components of a
combined plan, but the other cities have shown no interest, according to
the county.
Stockton's animal control and
animal shelter are part of the Police Department. County government
contracts with the city for the shelter. The county's animal control
covers unincorporated land - from urban areas near Stockton to the
county's rural reaches. Until this year, county animal control was part
of the Agricultural Commissioner's Office. Now it is part of the
Sheriff's Office.
The league's study doesn't
include improvements made since the shift to the Sheriff's Office, said
Ann Mooney, field representative for Service Employees International
Union Local 1021, which represents county animal control officers.
Mooney urged the board to not jump into discussions with the city
without accurate and up-to-date information.
The
study also drew fire from Eileen McFall, who said the study used
systems with sky-high euthanasia rates as models. There are so-called
"no-kill" models of shelters that save most of the animals they take in,
said McFall, an animal advocate and professor at University of the
Pacific. "We could certainly be doing a lot better."
Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/johnsonblog.
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