KAUFMAN -- The Kaufman County Commissioners Court rejected a new contract proposal submitted by the Humane Society of Cedar Creek Lake for animal shelter services increasing the per-animal fee to $100.
The court decided to seek an alternative to HSCCL, but it approved paying $100 per animal in 2015 on a month-to-month basis until county officials make new arrangements.
The court reviewed the proposal during a special meeting Dec. 29. HSCCC Board of Directors President Donny Shubert submitted the proposal in a letter dated Dec. 18.
In the letter Shubert said the organization would no longer be able to provide animal shelter services for Kaufman County at the fee of $65 per animal contained in the agreement that expired Dec. 31.
“While service to the county is an integral part of HSCCL’s operation and its funding, the fees set out in the agreement are simply insufficient to allow HSCCL to continue operations at the current rate,” Shubert said in the letter. “The county’s decision to not approve an increase in the per-animal fee has placed HSCCL in jeopardy of depleting its reserve fund.”
Shubert added that HSCCL would be open to discussion of a new multi-year contract expiring and renewing to coincide with the county’s fiscal year. “We look forward to a continuing relationship with the county to jointly save as many animals as possible,” he said.
The letter marked the second time in December for Shubert to approach the court about raising fees.
Shubert approached the court Dec. 8, seeking an increase to $75 per animal. The court rejected that proposal because county officials had already set the budget for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, 2015.
County officials said at the time they planned to develop a strategic plan for animal control in the coming years after hearing from Shubert and the Kaufman County Animal Awareness Project.
Shubert asked the court to raise the fee it pays for delivery of stray animals to the shelter by $10 to $75 per animal. He noted the reduction in the average number of animals being delivered to the shelter by the county caused a shortfall.
The county delivered 868 animals to the shelter through November, amounting to $56, 420, Shubert said. The number delivered in the previous year totaled 1,184, for which the county paid a flat fee of $75,000 he said.
The county changed its payment arrangement from a flat fee to a per-animal fee at the request of the shelter earlier in the year.
“I’m not asking you for more money,” Shubert said. “I’m asking you for the same money.”
Shubert said animals being delivered by cities to the shelter has also dropped drastically. The shelter raised its per-animal fee charged to the lake’s cities from $17.50 to $45 per animal.
Shubert said fundraising revenue also decreased, but he hoped to be notified of grants being awarded to the shelter in January. He said adoptions had doubled during the past year.
Shubert noted the shelter’s maximum capacity for holding animals is 60 dogs and 35 cats. Animals that do not get adopted are euthanized to avoid overpopulating the shelter.
“If you want us there, you are going to have to pay for the service,” Shubert said.
Kaufman County Project Manager Pam Corder attributed the decrease in animals going to the shelter to increased efforts by the county to educate people about the need for animal neutering and adoption efforts.
The shelter’s director resigned in December, and Shubert announced the HSCCL board of directors would be forming a search committee to find a replacement. Volunteers and other shelter employees are now running the shelter.
