LAKEPORT ? The City of Lakeport is considering an agreement with Lake County Animal Care and Control (LCACC) for services. A proposal will go before the Lakeport City Council Tuesday.
The city canceled its contract with the county for the LCACC services after 20 years last July. In his memo to the Lakeport City Council, Interim City Manager Kevin Burke said the Lakeport Police Department took over the animal control duties because the county proposed an approximately 24-percent increase in the annual fee the city paid for the services, and the city could not afford it. He said since then, the level of animal care and control service in the city has dropped.
“Calls regarding feral and pet cats have continued to be an area where the police department has been unable to satisfy citizen needs and concerns. This has resulted in a number of citizen complaints to the police department and an observable increase in the local feral cat population,” Burke said.
The county proposed the increase as part of a contract renewal in August 2007, claiming it reflected the actual cost of providing animal control to the city. Before then, Lakeport paid a percentage of the county”s total cost, according to Burke. In a year”s time, the annual fee had increased 6 percent in the 2007-08 fiscal year to $57,552. The county”s proposed increase would have brought the fee to $71,868.
Under the proposed agreement, city and county staff would collaborate to provide animal control services. The LCACC would undertake functions that involve handling the animals. The city would pay only for activity within the city limits, including county staff time spent on cases the cost to house the city”s animals housed at the shelter.
Bill Davidson, LCACC deputy director, said the county would provide services during normal business hours Monday through Friday, leaving the city responsible for after-hours calls.
Burke said under the proposed agreement, police officers will continue to answer calls that do not involve handling the animals, including animal licensing and complaints about barking dogs. The department would continue to license dogs and provide administrative services. In addition, LCACC would no longer patrol the city.
The new agreement puts a $30,000 cap on the annual fee the city will pay the county for LCACC animal control services, and a $5,000 cap on the remaining two months in the 2008-09 fiscal year. If approved, the contract would take effect May 1.
Burke said the city had budgeted $25,000 for the year it covered animal care and control. Burke said while the annual cost would go up, it was ultimately a 58 percent savings over the contract amount the county proposed in 2007.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
