1997-0701_ORANGE, COUNTY OF_H1a_Agenda Report •
AGENDA ITEM August 5, 1997
TO: George Scarborough, City Manager
FROM: Jennifer Murray, DPA, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Consideration of Renewal of Agreement with County of Orange - Animal Control and
Shelter Services for FY 1997-98
RECOMMENDATION:
Move to approve the Agreement with the County of Orange for Animal Control Services during the
period of July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998, and authorize a transfer of$3,887 from the General Fund
Reserve to Account No. 01-62193-4230.
SITUATION:
Since incorporation, the City has contracted with the County of Orange for animal control services.
The contract has been on a yearly basis. Pursuant to this contract, County Animal Control staff have
been providing services which include animal rescues, animal sheltering, emergency response,
impound actions, field investigations, and quarantine actions. The bulk of animal control services
relate to services for domestic animals, not wildlife.
A new contract with the County of Orange has been prepared for the 1997-98 fiscal year and is
attached. This agreement proposes no changes from the services which are currently offered or
performed by the County of Orange.
Summary of Contract Components
Services provided in the contract include field services such as patrol, impounds of stray animals, pick
ups of injured animals, cruelty investigations, bite investigations, impound of dead animals for
disposal, citizen contacts for information regarding wildlife or other animal concerns, and responses
to service request calls from law enforcement and city officials. The contract also includes special
services such as pet and facility licensing, inspections, and low cost vaccination clinics. A final
component of the contract is for shelter services. Shelter services are provided at the County shelter
in Orange.
The County of Orange provides animal control services for 21 incorporated cities and the
unincorporated areas of the County. Additionally, the contract cities provide 4 of 7 members of the
FOR CITY COUNCIL AGM,f. /�
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Agenda Item 2
Financial/Operational Advisory Board. This Board reviews operational matters and assesses cost
recovery options with the goal of keeping Animal Control service cost effective for the cities.
Evaluation of Service
Staff believes the services provided by Orange County Animal Control during the 1996-97 contract
year have met the intent of the contract and have been provided in a professional and humane manner.
Orange County Animal control staff provides information to the City on a quarterly basis about the
types and number of service hours provided in San Juan Capistrano. The contract with the County
has proven to be a cost efficient way for the City to meet its animal control obligations.
In San Juan Capistrano, animal control issues have been driven by cost of the service. With this
approach, stray animals whose ownership is unknown are picked up in San Juan Capistrano are taken
to the animal shelter in Orange, where they remain for at least a five day period with the hope that
they are claimed by their owners. After five days, County staff determines whether any unclaimed
animals are likely candidates for adoption, and they continue to be cared for for an additional period
of time. Eventually,unwanted animals are euthanized at the discretion of the County. According to
Orange County Animal Control, dogs from San Juan Capistrano are redeemed by their owners about
51%of the time. This rate is much higher than the average for all cities participating in the County
system,which is 32% owner redemption. For owner redemption of cats, San Juan Capistrano's figure
is 4% while county wide, the owner redemption figure is 2.3%.
In South Orange County, only the Cities of San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Hills and Lake Forest
contract with the County of Orange for animal control services. Other South County cities either
provide their own services (Laguna Beach), contract with a neighboring city (Laguna Niguel and
Mission Viejo) or have created a joint powers authority to provide animal control services (Dana
Point and San Clemente). Three of these cities previously contracted with the County of Orange for
animal control services.
In the last few years,these cities have chosen instead to provide animal control services either directly
or jointly with a neighboring city so that the shelter facilities are located closer to their residents.
Additionally, some of these communities have seen the development of pro-life animal support
organizations, such as the Animal Rescue Foundation in Dana Point and Friends of the San Clemente
Animal Shelter, active in San Clemente. Through the significant contributions and efforts of these
volunteer organizations, shelter policies have been expanded so that no animals in good health are
euthanized. All are cared for until they are adopted into responsible homes. These practices are
costly, but these animal support organizations have contributed significantly to offsetting these costs.
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Agenda Item 3
Because animal control services represent a significant cost to a city, it is important to evaluate other
service options which might be even more cost effective. In January, 1996, the cities of Dana Point
and San Clemente formed a joint powers authority ( Coastal Animal Services Authority, or CASA)
for the provision of animal control services. The shelter facility is located in San Clemente. Last
year, city staff contacted CASA to review whether there would be an opportunity for San Juan
Capistrano to gain greater cost efficiency or cost recovery were this city to join with them. Efforts
to conduct a cost comparison and analysis of services have not progressed far, as CASA is still
getting off the ground and further developing its cost accounting procedures and cost history. A
major focus of CASA's efforts during the past year was the relocation of the animal shelter from a
temporary facility to a permanent one, and the recruitment of a new director.
City staff believes there is benefit in conducting an analysis of animal control services, comparing
services and costs of the County system with CASA. There are some differences in the animal
control issues which need to be evaluated. For example, San Juan Capistrano has equestrian and
livestock issues, which Dana Point and San Clemente do not share. Dana Point and San Clemente
have some marine life issues, which do not exist in San Juan Capistrano. Also, Dana Point and San
Clemente use a different method for canvassing neighborhoods for collecting license fees and they
have volunteer pro-life animal support organizations actively involved in their animal shelter program.
Another issue which will influence the cost of animal control services in San Juan Capistrano in the
future is the County's plan to relocate the existing animal shelter in Orange to Tustin. The relocation
is necessary because of the planned expansion of the Theo Lacy Correctional Facility, operated by
the Orange County Sheriffs Department. The Theo Lacy facility will be expanded onto land which
currently houses the animal shelter. Cities participating in the Orange County Animal Control system
will be asked to share the cost of constructing a new animal shelter in Tustin. The costs of the shelter
will be determined this fiscal year, and next year (FY 1998-99) cities participating in the Orange
County system will be asked to make a ten year commitment to the system to recover the costs of
constructing the new shelter.
The County has indicated that it will present cost information on the proposed shelter relocation and
construction to cities by December, 1997. The animal control contract requires participant cities to
provide a 180 days(six months) notice to the County if they wish to withdraw from the system. For
this reason, a decision on whether to stay with the County of Orange or make a change to participate
with another provider, such as CASA, must be made prior to January 1, 1997. This would allow such
a decision to take effect July 1, 1998.
Staff will be analyzing animal control services in the upcoming months. A report will be presented
to the City Council no later than December, 1997. Until such time, staff recommends the City
Council approve the contract with the Orange County for animal control services for the 1997-98
fiscal year.
Agenda Item 4
COMMISSIONBOARD REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Not applicable
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:
The cost of the animal control contract is determined by the County on a "best guess basis" about the
quantities of various types of services ( such as animal shelter days and hours of field patrol) needed
in the upcoming fiscal year. The estimated gross cost for animal control services in FY 1997-98 is
$111,839. This represents an increase of approximately half of one percent from the estimated gross
costs for 1996-97. This cost is greatly offset by revenues credited to the City based on shelter
impound fees and licensing fees. Estimated revenues for the upcoming fiscal year are $64,041. The
revenues received by the City through dog licenses, shelter fees and other fees provides for
approximately 58% cost recovery.
The County uses service data from prior years to assist in making provisional cost estimates. Final
payment to the County is based upon the actual amounts of specific services rendered. After a
contract year concludes a city may receive a credit if it has paid for more services than were rendered,
or it may receive a debit if it received more services than it initially paid for during the contract year.
Also, cost history from two years prior is taken into consideration. San Juan Capistrano has small
debit amounts owed for the past two years.
The City budgets the cost of the contract not on the full estimated cost, but upon an adjusted cost
amount that takes into consideration final credits or debits from the two prior years. Based upon this
adjusted cost amount, $48,887 is needed to provide for animal control services for the 1997-98 fiscal
year. Because this figure was not known at the time the FY 97-98 budget was prepared, an estimate
of $45,000 was included in the budget. A budget adjustment of $3,887 is needed to cover the
difference between the budgeted estimate and the final net contract cost.
NOTIFICATION:
Orange County Health Services Department, Division of Animal Control
Coastal Animal Services Authority
ALTERNATE ACTIONS:
1. Move to approve the Agreement with the County of Orange for Animal Control Services
during the period of July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998, and authorize the transfer of$3,887 from
the General Fund Reserve into account 01-62193- 4230.
2. Request additional information from staff.
Agenda Item 5
RECOMMENDATION:
Move to approve the Agreement with the County of Orange for Animal Control Services during the
period of July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998, and authorize the transfer of$3,887 from the General Fund
Reserve into account number 01-62193-4230 to cover the cost of the net provisional payment.
Respectfully submitted,
nni er M. Murray, A
Assistant City Manager
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Attachment: Agreement for Animal Control and Shelter Services