It isn’t about the money. It’s about the service.
That, at least, is how the director of the Mesa County Justice Services, Matt Lewis, puts it when talking about the county’s overhaul of animal services.
“This is entirely borne, this entire process of splitting enforcement and shelter and then potentially contracting out the shelter, is completely about finding the best possible delivery service for our residents,” said Lewis, who soon will become deputy county administrator when Pete Baier retires in January and the current deputy, Todd Hollenbeck, takes his job.
“This has not been a budget-driven conversation, this is not been about that. It’s been about service delivery,” Lewis added. “The sheriff’s office and our law enforcement partners are much better at the enforcement part. We don’t know if it would generate monetary savings or if it will cost more, but what we really want to know is, do we have service providers, nonprofit organizations that are already in this community or would want to be in this community that could do the shelter function of animal services in a better way?”
A few years ago, the county looked into the idea of having its shelter and animal services division operated by a nonprofit or some other group that might be able to provide better services when it comes to dealing with stray dogs and cats, along with other animals.
But because of issues surrounding animal enforcement and the then structural problems with the county’s shelter building, no one came forward.
Lewis had hoped that a vendor would come forward after the county decided to take animal enforcement away from the animal services division, and place four of those officer positions with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office instead.
Had it been turned over to a vendor, the remaining shelter workers would have continued to stay on the job, but work instead for that contractor. The county had been accepting bids for that duty until last Friday.
Unfortunately, the county received no bids for the contract, Lewis said.
Last week, the Board of County Commissioners approved new, updated ordinances that more align with recent state laws governing both animal enforcement and operation of the county’s shelter, which is located near the county landfill off U.S. Highway 50 south of Grand Junction.
Those new rules, which go into effect Jan. 1, come with new fees designed to help make the shelter more cost-efficient.
The revamped ordinances also help law enforcement know what is and is not the law governing animals, even violent ones, and determine what offenses owners may face for violating those laws.
Complaints for loud, barking dogs, for example, won’t be governed by animal control laws, but the county’s noise ordinances, and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, Lewis said.
Other issues, such as rabies control, licensing, at-large animals and dangerous dogs have been revised to fit relatively new state laws, some subject to petty offenses and others to misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail, depending on their severity.
The new ordinance includes the same possible fines as currently used: $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second, $250 for a third and $500 for a fourth or subsequent offense.
Lewis said that although budget savings aren’t driving the dog cart here, budgetary concerns still could have come into play if it turned out to be too costly to turn it over to another entity. But since there were no takers, the county will continue to operate the shelter as it always has, Lewis said.
That’s partly why the animal ordinance change also comes with some increased fees for certain services, such as licensing or euthanasia. Some of those fees will increase by only a few dollars for such things as boarding, while others could increase by as much as $30 for such items as certain adoptions.
Other fees will remain the same, such as the $100 fee for a “dangerous dog” special permit. Such an animal can get that designation if it injured or killed a person or other domesticate animal, or has been adjudicated by a court of law as such.
Lewis said those fees are meant to be permanent, but they wouldn’t have prevented any new vendor operating the shelter from imposing additional fees based on their assessment of keeping the shelter out of the doghouse financially.
NEW FEES
With new rules going into effect on Jan. 1 at the Mesa County Animal Services shelter, there will be new fees designed to help make the shelter more cost-efficient. ■ Impounding: dogs, cats, other animals, $45 (up from $35); $100 for out-of-county animals (up from $75). ■ Boarding: $10 a day for all animals (up from $8). ■ Adoption: $120 for dogs (up from $95); $95 for cats (up from $65); $20 for other animals (up from $10). ■ Licenses: $15 for one year (up from $10) and $30 for three years (up from $25). No change in $5 fee for lost tag replacement, or $100 for dangerous dog special permit. ■ Euthanasia: $50 (up from $40), but may include $140 additional fee for rabies examinations if necessary. ■ Trip or Transportation: $40 (no change).
