Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05222012 - SD.3RECOMMENDATION(S): APPROVE the response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1205, entitled, "Animal Shelters in Contra Costa County, Tail of Two Shelters" and DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than June 25, 2012. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. BACKGROUND: On April 25, 2012 the 2011/12 Civil Grand Jury filed the above-referenced report, which was received by the Board of Supervisors on May 8th and subsequently referred to the County Administrator for response. The attached response clearly specifies: Whether a finding or recommendation is accepted or will be implemented; If a recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and by what target date; A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted but cannot be implemented within a six-month period; and The reason for not accepting a finding or recommendation. APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 05/22/2012 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes:See Addendum VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Dorothy Sansoe, 925-335-1009 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: May 22, 2012 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: June McHuen, Deputy cc: SD. 3 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:May 22, 2012 Contra Costa County Subject:Response to Grand Jury Report 1205 - Tail of Two Shelters CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: In order to comply with statutory requirements, the Board of Supervisors must provide a response to the Superior Court no later than June 25, 2012. The last Board meeting prior to the deadline is on June 5, 2012. The Board must take action by that date in order to comply with the statutory deadline. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: Not Applicable. CLERK'S ADDENDUM Chair Piepho noted that the verbal staff report included valuable details in regard to Findings 3 and 4, and indicated she would like the written response to also include the same information. APPROVED the response as amended today; and DIRECTED the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than June 25, 2012. ATTACHMENTS Response to Report 1205 1 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RESPONSE TO GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1205: Tail of Two Shelters FINDINGS 1. The Antioch Shelter currently has an insufficient number of volunteers to provide adequate time out of the kennels for training, socialization, playtime or exercise for the animals each day, which is part of the humane treatment of the animals. Response: This requires a response by the City of Antioch. 2. The Antioch Shelter’s spay/neuter fees are higher than fees charged for comparable services by nearby shelters and, for this reason, may discourage adoption from this shelter. Response: This requires a response by the City of Antioch. 3. The cost differences between the two shelters (as shown in Table 1) are great enough to merit closer examination for cost effectiveness. Response: Respondent agrees with the finding. 4. Neither shelter has an advisory council to work with management to develop plans to meet space, population, and fiscal issues. Response: Respondent agrees with the finding. Contra Costa County does not have an advisory council for the state purpose. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. The Antioch Shelter should explore ways to increase the number of volunteers to ensure the humane treatment of the animals and that each animal receives adequate personal attention (walking, socialization) each day. Response: This requires a response by the City of Antioch. 2. The Antioch Shelter should explore options to provide lower cost spay/neuter fees for newly adopted animals. Response: This requires a response by the City of Antioch. 2 3. Each shelter should examine its cost per animal to ensure that the amount being spent provides for efficient, effective, and humane treatment for the animals. Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented by the County Animal Shelter, but will be implemented in the future. We believe that the Contra Costa Animal Shelter already provides for the efficient, effective and humane treatment for the animals. However, the County also believes it is a good idea to review performance from time to time. An analysis of this type takes significant staff time. Due to vacancies in several positions in the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department, staff is not currently available to perform this work. When these vacancies are filled and staff is available, a review will be performed. The Department will make every effort to complete the review no later than October 15, 2012. 4. The County Shelter and the Antioch Shelter should consider establishing advisory councils to provide direction and suggest priorities for each shelter. Response: The recommendation will not be implemented for the County Animal Shelters as it is not warranted. The County has been looking at its advisory boards as a part of the entire County structure and has found that there some that are duplicative, have not been effective, or are cost and staff intensive. In an effort to streamline process, increase effectiveness, and reduce unnecessary expenses, the Board of Supervisors has eliminates those bodies no longer necessary. This proposal is counter to the streamlining and the restructuring that the County has been doing for the past seven years. The County Animal Services Department works closely with a number of organizations who provide advice and input into the operations of the shelter. A new advisory council is not needed to provide this service.