Washington County Enterprise-Leader
County Increases Animal Shelter Fees
Washington County Animal Shelter has increased its impound fee from $85 to $150 per animal for all cities that contract with the county to shelter strays, abandoned or relinquished animals and this affects Farmington, Prairie Grove and Lincoln animal control programs.
The shelter also is charging a new fee of $10 per day per animal, up to three days. If an animal is not reclaimed in three days, it becomes the property of the county shelter.
Marilyn Miles, president of Lincoln Pound Pals, said the increase concerns the volunteer group because under its previous agreement with the city, Pound Pals would pay $66 for each dog taken to the county shelter and Lincoln would pay the balance of the $85 shelter fee.
“In the big scheme of things, $150 is probably a good deal,” Miles said, “but we’re so new that it’s a big jump for us. We can’t afford $180.”
Lincoln Pound Pals is hoping the city will agree to pay $50 of the $150 fee and the Pals would pay $100, Miles said. She’s also hoping the county will waive the $10 per day fee for Lincoln.
“We desperately want to keep it (Lincoln Pound Pals) going,” Miles said, noting the group has to raise its own money to pay the county’s impound fees.
Board members with Lincoln
Pound Pals approached city aldermen last year proposing a partnership to eliminate euthanasia at the city’s animal pound.
Since October, the group has taken 29 dogs to the county shelter. Only one dog has been euthanized from the Lincoln pound during this time and that’s because the animal was diagnosed with parvo, Miles said.
Lincoln has not signed a new contract yet with the county but is still negotiating, Rhonda Hulse, city manager, said recently.
Farmington and Prairie Grove city councils have approved new contracts with Washington County with the increased fees.
Brian Lester, Washington County attorney, said the county increased impound fees to recoup some of its costs.
“We looked at all the numbers and figured out the average cost per animal,” said Lester, noting the average cost to keep an animal takes into account length of stay, vet fees and immunizations. “The county was actually picking up quite a bit of the cost,” Lester said.
The fee increase is part of the county administration’s review to look at all departments and determine how to reduce expenses or cut out what is not necessary, Lester said.
Scott Harper of Farmington submitted a letter to the city of Farmington about his concerns with the fee increase.
The increase, Harper said, is “disturbing and a move backwards.” He wrote that he fears higher fees could lead to fewer people reclaiming their animals and also could lead to a reluctance by smaller cities to pick up strays or take in surrenders because of the increased cost. “If this occurs, we will head right back to where we started with more strays, more unwanted litters of kittens and puppies, more animals being dumped, and a potential increased risk to public health and safety,” Harper wrote.
Harper is administrator for a Facebook page called Farmington, AR Lost & Found Pets and he said he started his Facebook page as a place to post photos of stray animals picked up by Farmington’s animal control officer. Ideally, he would like for the city to post all photos of its animals on the Facebook page as a way to help get homes for the animals. He said the city occasionally posts photos.
Harper said he has talked to city officials about Farmington opening a five-day holding shelter to give residents the chance to reclaim their pets so they do not have to pay the county impound fee.
“I think that makes sense,” Harper said. “If (an animal) is not reclaimed after five days, I’m fine with sending them to Washington County.”
Melissa McCarville, city business manager, said Farmington does not have the staff or place for a temporary shelter, nor does it have an active volunteer organization in place to help with animals.
“That’s why we’re paying the county,” McCarville said. “We don’t have the personnel or money for that. We don’t want to get in that business again.”
Farmington has taken stray and abandoned animals to the county shelter since it opened in September 2012.
The city’s annual cost varies for sheltering fees. For 2015, the city paid just under $11,000 to the county animal shelter. For 2016, the city paid about $7,200. So far in 2017, the city has paid $2,725 in sheltering fees.
While the city of Prairie Grove has a contract with the county animal shelter, a volunteer group, Friends of Prairie Grove Pound, is responsible for the impound fees per an agreement between the city and Friends. The Friends has not taken an animal to the shelter during the past two years because it uses a vast network to help foster animals and find adoption homes.
Sharon Glover with Friends of Prairie Grove Pound said she is concerned people will not relinquish animals for $150 but instead will drop them off for others to deal with.