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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-25-1995 CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORTSSARATOGA CITY COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY N0.' I AGENDA ITEM J(A MEETING DATE:' uAe=25. 1995 CITY MANAGER ORIGINATING DEPT. Office of the City Manager Paula Reeve, Public Services Assistant SUBJECT: Animal Control Program Field Services Contract K Kl 1 �IPI KNI /0 "1- 1 UN , Staff recommends restoring the Animal Control Program to provide for full field services . which will allow for continued participation in the West Valley Animal Services Program. This would require a budget appropriation of approximately $14,400 from the General Fund or the Integrated Solid Waste Management Program budget. BACRGROUI�ID The County of Santa Clara discontinued all animal control services to the cities as of July 1, 1993. Saratoga staff worked with representatives from the cities of Campbell, Monte Sereno, Cupertino and the Town of Los Gatos in a joint effort to develop the West Valley Animal Control Program which replaced the service structure previously provided by County Animal Control. The program went into effect on April 1, 1994, and included the following four contracts: 1. Agreement to Provide Animal Services to the West Valley Cities 2. Shelter and Veterinary Services Agreement 3. Licensing Agreement 4. Humane Society Field Services Agreement. The total annual program cost to the City of Saratoga was $44,100, offset by approximately $14,000 in licensing and impound revenue, for a net cost of $30,100. All dog owners on the County's licensing database were contacted in the first year of the program, therefore, licensing revenue is expected to decrease in future years. Current Field Services Contract Considerations The fifteen month Humane Society Field Services contract expired on June 30, 1995. At nearly the same time, the Council cut the Animal Control Program budget from $47,200 by $30,000, allowing $12,600 for the Shelter Contract and the remaining $5,000 for the Field Service portion. The intention was to cut expenditures by reducing the field service contract to a level required by law, or "emergency field services." The Humane Society agreed to supply Page 2 this service to Saratoga for $16,000. Consequently, $10,000 was added back into the budget and the City entered into a one year contract with the Humane Society on July 1, 1995. The emergency field component consists of three basic services: 1. Pick -up of sick and injured cats and dogs 2. Vicious animals 3. Bite investigations. * Police Assists (As a courtesy to the City of Saratoga, the Humane Society included "police assists" as an added service because approximately one call of this nature is received per month. Excluding this service would result in complications for the Sheriff's Deputies. Dead Animal Pick -uD Reducing the field service level to emergency services was justified by integrating the pick -up of dead animals into the street maintenance program, and simply not providing several other services formerly rendered by the Humane Society. Because dead animal pick -up comprised approximately 46W of the field service calls, this appeared to be a practical way to reduce expenditures. Accordingly, the Public Works crew began picking -up small, dead animals on July 1, and contracted with San Jose Tallow Company to remove and dispose of large animals such as deer. The tallow company fee of $4,500 per year is based on an estimate of 60 deer at $75 per animal. After two weeks of operating in this fashion, several complications became apparent, resulting in Public Works Director Larry Perlin's request to revert to using the Humane Society to pick -up dead animals. This request was based on the risk of injury and illness to City crews, as certain dead animals require special handling due to the possibility of rabies. Another unanticipated complication came to light over the weekend of July 24, when street crews responded back to work at an overtime pay rate to pick -up four dead animals off Saratoga streets. It is estimated that 25* of the dead animals will require weekend pick- up, resulting in an additional overtime expense of $3,750. The combined cost of the tallow company and overtime expenses may run as high as $8,250. In response'to Mr. Perlin's request, the Humane Society has agreed to pick -up and dispose of all dead animals, both large and small, at $25 per animal. Based on prior year contract statistics of approximately 250 dead animals, the Humane Society's total cost for this service would be $6,250. Although this appears to be $1,700 more than the Tallow company fee, the actual expense of having City crews pick -up the remaining 190 small dead animals has to be considered along with potential overtime costs. Page 3 The combined cost to contract with the Humane Society for "emergency field services" and dead animal pick -up will be $22,250. Impact on West Valley Cities Agreement and Current Contract Negotiations Reducing the animal control program budget by $30,000 precluded Saratoga from appropriating the funds to participate in the proposed West Valley Humane Society field services contract from July 1, 1995 through June 30, 1998. Accordingly, the other West Valley cities have entered into a three month interim field services contract with the Humane Society from July 1 through September 30, 1995, until the status of Saratoga's participation can be resolved and the proposed contract negotiations are finalized. The services in the proposed West Valley Humane Society Field Service contract are unchanged from the agreement which expired on June 30, with the exception of pickup of injured wildlife. This new service is beneficial because it provides for pick up of injured wildlife from city streets, public property, and private property when permission is granted by the owner. Since Humane Society statistics for 1994 -95 indicate that 36% of Saratoga's calls were for "other" (meaning wildlife),, this is a valuable service (See Attachment A). The Humane Society full service field contract provides for the following: 1. Pick -up of sick and injured cats and dogs. 2. vicious animals/ investigation and resolution of dangerous dog complaints. 3. Bite investigations. 4. Police Assists on animal related issues. 5. Pick -up of confined stray cats and dogs. 6. Issuance of citations upon request from any city for violations in accordance with city ordinances and state mandates. 7. Pick -up of injured wildlife from city streets and public property or, from private property with the owner's permission. 8. Pick -up and disposal of dead animals, including wildlife from city streets and public property or from private property with the owner's permission. Owner identification and notification, if possible. In comparison to the "emergency field services" contract, the pick- up of confined stray cats and dogs is included in the proposed West Valley contract. An increasing number of complaints have been received since July 1 in response to cancelling this service, and several residents have almost been bitten while attempting to corner animals to transport to the shelter. This is a valid Page 4 concern since 27W of the 498 calls in the last eleven months have been for stray pick -up (See Attachment A). During the first year of the contract, field service costs were allocated based upon the percentage of each city's population. After the first year, an analysis of the program usage revealed that Saratoga and Cupertino were subsidizing the other jurisdictions. Percentages in the new contract will be adjusted to reflect program usage rates rather than population percentages. Therefore, if Saratoga were to participate in this contract, its cost would decrease from 21% to 18 %. In addition, the West Valley Program representatives decided that it is not necessary to have dedicated field officers, which will result in additional savings. The Humane Society has proposed a contract price of $168,522 to the West Valley Cities for 1995/96, with 4W increases over the subsequent two years. Saratoga's cost for 1995/96 would therefore be 18t of $168,522, or $30,334. This amount would be offset by projected licensing and impound revenue of approximately $9,000, resulting in a net 1995/96 program cost of about $21,334 for full field services. FISCAL IMPACTS: The Finance Director has recalculated the expected General Fund Balance for 6/30/95 as a result of ALL the changes to that Fund through the Council actions of July 11. Originally the expected fund balance was to be $2,132,000. The revised number is $30,000 higher, or $2,162,000, allowing for a potential $30,000 General Fund cushion beyond that projected. Therefore, a part of the $30,000 working capital in the General Fund Balance could be Appropriated for the purpose of restoring Animal Control Field Services without touching the Contingency Appropriation, while still leaving an expected ending fund balance of at least $2,132,000. In addition, the appropriation for contract services under Integrated Solid Waste Management totalled $77,000. This amount was primarily for continuation of the HHW contract which was for $72,500 in FY 94/95. The new contract amendment for 95 -96 reduces that amount to $60,000 due to the implementation of the Battery, Oil and Paint (BOP) stations which we believe will take some 20W of Saratoga program usage at about 25W of the previous cost per user. This leaves $17, 000 available for other program costs. The cost of pick -up and disposal of dead animals may be a more appropriate call on the Environmental Services Fund as it relates more closely to that function. Page 5 1. Emergency Field Services: City crews pick -up dead animals, and Tallow Company contract: $20,500 ($16,000 + $4,500) (If possible overtime expenses of $3,750 are incurred, the total may be as high as $24,250). 2. Emergency Field Services: Humane Society pick -up dead animals, $22,250 ($16,000 + $6,250). 3. Full Field Services : Participation in the West Valley Cities Program, $30,334, (offset by projected revenue, net $21,334). CONCLUSION: To put this into perspective, the full service program calculates out to less than a dollar per year per capita. This is a small price to pay for a basic service which Saratoga residents expect to rely upon. In general, if full services are not provided, City staff will incur the repercussions in the form of increased work and citizen complaints, which have already been experienced since July 1. A reduced level of service will eventually lead to further health and safety issues and may result in liability for the City. By not participating in the Field Services contract with the West Valley Animal Services Program, Saratoga is loosing the economies of scale derived from this joint effort, thus impacting the other jurisdictions as well. Attempting to provide "emergency field services" and adding additional service requirements utilizing a "pick and choose" mentality increases the cost beyond participation in the West Valley Program and actually results in a lower level of service. CONSMUSNCBS OF NOT ACTING ON THE RECONMEDED MOTIONS: The West Valley Cities plan to take the proposed Humane Society contract to their respective Councils for approval during August. If the City of Saratoga expects to be included in this program, it is imperative that a decision is made immediately. Otherwise, Saratoga will pass up the opportunity to be included in the West Valley field services contract for another three years. FOLLOW UP ACTIONS• Notify City staff, the Sheriff's Department, County Communications and the West Valley Cites of the field service level which has been decided upon and begin program implementation. Attachment A: Humane Society 1994/95 Field Services Program Statistics � V CITY OF SARATOGA PAGE 1 OF 3 ANIMAL CONTROL -------- - - - - -- -------------- TOTAL CALLS: - DOGS - CATS - OTHER TOTAL TYPES OF CALLS: - SICK AND INJURED - BITE INV. I QUARANTINE - POLICE ASSISTS - DANGEROUS DOGS - STRAYS, CONFINED - STRAYS, PATROL PICKUP - BARN OWNERS - DEAD ANIMAL PICKUP - OWNER RELEASES - OTHER TOTAL 1994 --------------------------------- JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 12 19 13 19 19 18 12 11 10 23 If 8 20 28 27 20 14 7 --------------------------------- 44 58 50 62 44 33 --------------------------- - - - - -- 1994 --------------------------------- JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC --------------------------------- 5 4 2 4 1 1 5 5 1 5 2 4 1 1 0 4 1 1 I 0 0 0 1 1 4 4 6 12 14 10 0 1 7 7 3 5 1 4 1 1 2 1 24 33 33 25 l8 9 3 4 0 2 1 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 --------------------------------- 44 58 50 62 44 33 --------------------------- - - - - -- ATTACHMENT "A" 1995 --------------------------------- JAN FEB KAR APR KAY JUN 27 17 21 17 18 10 7 7 6 12 15 12 8 l6 14 --------------------------------- 52 36 36 39 44 --------------------------- - - - - -- 1995 AN FEB KIR APR KAY JUN --------------------------------- 2 2 2 3 1 5 2 4 4 10 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 9 3 8 8 8 10 3 6 4 1 1 6 5 0 3 22 18 It 19 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 --------------------------------- 52 --------------------------- 36 36 39 44 - - - - -- FISCAL YTD 200 Ill 181 498 YTD 27 47 10 5 Be 47 25 231 12 8 498 ANIMAL CONTROL PROGRAM ANNUAL EXPENSE PROJECTIONS 1994 -1995 Contract Total Program Saratoga's 21W Share Humane Society Field $150,000 $31,500 Shelter and Vet 60,000 12,600 $210,000 $441100 Saratoga's Licensing /Impound Revenue 16,610 Saratoga's Total Program Expenses $27,490 1995 -1996 Contract Total Program Saratoga's 181 Share Humane Society Field $168,522 (8% ') $30,334 Shelter and Vet 60,000 12,600 $210,000 $42,934 Saratoga's Projected Lic /Impound Revenue 9,000 Saratoga's Total Program Expenses $33,934 F: \Animal.ctr \program.inf YEAR TO DATE LICENSING AND IMPOUND REVENUE from West Valley Pet Shelter LICENSING REVENUE Perio - June 1994 Amount May - June 1994 842.20 July - Sept 4,680.20 Oct. - Dec. 4,396.60 Jan. - March 1995 1,670.00 April - June 1,840.00 *Note: licensing program did not begin until May 1994 IMPOUND REVENUE .. April - June 1994 616. July - Sept. 683. Oct. - Dec. 1,097. Jan. - March 1995 435. April - June 350 Year to Date Revenue: Licensing $13,429.00 Impound 3,181.00 $16,610.00 F: \animal.ctr \revenue