Interim Director Speaks Out About Uncertain Future of Sacramento County Animal Shelter
The future looks grim for the Sacramento County animal shelter and the department faces severe cuts even if the shelter remains open past July 1, interim Director Carl Simpson said Thursday.
Reports of the award-winning shelter’s closure after just nine months of operation have circulated since April, and Simpson acknowledged that severe cuts face the shelter when the county’s budget is approved by June 30. The shelter’s fate will be discussed during final budget hearings starting on June 14, and preliminary budget recommendations from April 14 show a potentially drastic reduction in shelter services that could save the county $1.9 million for other programs.
Included in the recommendations are eliminating the director–which was already completed with the release of former director, Pam Claerbout–and reducing many functions of the shelter, such as eliminating owner-requested euthanasia, eliminating medical care for shelter animals and reducing the adoption program to 30 percent of its current operations. In addition, the cuts could potentially reduce the shelter’s operating hours to four hours per day, four days per week and would eliminate 27 full-time positions from the department’s work force.
Simpson, who is splitting his time between the animal care department and code enforcement for the county, said he understands the difficulty the Board of Supervisors face when determining where general fund money should be allocated. “If the Board decides to restore additional funds to Animal Care, those funds will cause a reduction in programs elsewhere in county services that are also supported by the general fund, ” he said. ”The reductions could impact public safety, Child Protective Services, or other programs that may seriously impact County residents. These decisions will not be taken lightly by the Board of Supervisors.”
Simpson said his long-term goal is to reduce the shelter’s reliance on general fund money for its operations, and he pointed to his success in shifting the code enforcement department’s funding away from the general fund. He also said he is meeting with city leaders to potentially consolidate county animal services with the city’s program and with programs of non-profits such as the Sacramento SPCA and the Humane Society of the United States.
Statistics from 2009 show the shelter took in nearly 15,000 animals and euthanized over 9,000. Those numbers are actually down from 2008 when the shelter took in nearly 1,000 more animals, but the shelter is continuing to take in more animals than it has space for. Neighboring shelter Sacramento SPCA reported taking in over 12,500 animals last year as well.
Simpson said that though he is anticipating large cuts to the shelter, he also understands how important the shelter is to the well-being of the Sacramento area. ”I know we do very important work, and that homeless and unwanted animals are depending on us,” he said. In the short-term, he is urging the public to donate to the shelter through their Save Our Shelter campaign and to take advantage of their pet licensing amnesty offer that will be in effect until June 30.
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