Loading...
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. /� • 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. • 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 JMM:jm Attachment: Agreement for Animal Control and Shelter Services