Should the City Take Over Animal Control Services?
The issue is on the city council agenda Wednesday.
The second of two votes on an ordinance needed for New Port Richey to take over animal control services from Pasco County is on the City Council agenda Wednesday, Sept. 5.
The plan is for New Port Richey to handle its own animal services using volunteers and city employees starting Oct. 1.
The plan is touted to save the city money eventually and improve response to animal complaints.
The plan was proposed late last year and has undergone changes.
Sharon McReynolds and Terry Spencer, the two professionals who proposed the plan, expressed major concerns about a version of the ordinance that came before the city council last month.
Spencer has withdrawn her support for the proposal.
Wednesday's meeting is the moment of truth as the council decides whether to approve the final draft of the ordinance.
The meeting, which starts with the first public reading of the city's fiscal year 2013, starts at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 5919 Main St.
Do you have an opinion on whether the city should pursue taking over animal services from the county? Share it in the comments and vote in our poll.
See also:
Chief: City Ready to Take Over Animal Control
City Tethered to County Animal Control for Rest of Fiscal Year
Lia Gallegos
10:03 pm on Saturday, September 1, 2012
I have some past experience with the Suncoast SPCA that tells me this is a bad idea. There is a reason it is expensive to run animal control services. Many of the dogs that are held have been mistreated, trained to be attack animals, or not socialized at all so they are dangerous to work with. Then you have the legal side of things, many of these animals must be held until legal matters can be settled, which can last months. These animals have to be held in cages--for sometimes up to six months--and they need to be fed and cared for all that time which is an expensive proposition with no potential for return on investment. My concern is that the City doesn't completely understand what they're getting themselves into, they're only looking at numbers, and it will be the animals who suffer in poor conditions with inadequate care.
Really the root of the problem is an uneducated public and the high cost of spay/neuter services that makes it impossible for a great deal of people in this area to afford proper care for their animals. How about promoting and supporting those vets and organizations who do offer low cost spay/neuter programs or working out an agreement with area vets to provide City sponsored low cost spay/neuter/vac clinics several times throughout the year? Just a drop in the bucket, I know, but it would be a small step forward rather than back.
rick houston
10:03 pm on Saturday, September 1, 2012
Why should we pay the county, we have a lot of volunteers to help.
Alex Tiegen
10:15 pm on Saturday, September 1, 2012
Thanks for commenting, Lia and Rick. Just to explain why the comments didn't show up immediately: We had someone continuously violating our terms of use (none of the people in this discussion) )earlier this week and had to temporarily tighten up our comment moderation. We will be returning to our normal moderation mode soon.