Things got contentious at last Thursday night’s budget committee meeting after a request was made by the DeKalb Animal Shelter to contribute more funds to the shelter. Some argued that the county is not doing its part to help the animal shelter, while others say the DeKalb Coalition for Humane Treatment of Animals is going back on their word from a previous agreement.
The issue began on Tuesday, July 13, when acting Animal Shelter Director Emmaly Bennett addressed the budget committee, submitting a request of a $39,805 contribution to fund another position at the shelter.
The roles and responsibilities of the Animal Shelter have been in debate over the past months, over who actually is in charge of the shelter, the City of Smithville, which funds two full-time shelter employees, or the Animal Coalition, which funds a part-time employee.
The city had issued a ban on all animals being brought into the shelter from outside the City in October, 2020, due to concerns of liability and costs, but the coalition said that the city did not have the authority to place such a ban. Smithville contended that since the employees were funded by the city, they could implement the ban, but the coalition contended that they were coalition employees that were funded by the city. The dispute eventually lead to a lawsuit being filed, dragging the county into the suit since they contributed funds to the shelter.
According to county officials, the suit seems to have now been settled, with the City of Smithville responsible for the building, the roof, air conditioning, and structure, while the Animal Coalition responsible for the inside of the building, mowing, upkeep, and the dog park. The Animal Coalition will be running the facility, with all the employees under their control.
The underlying issue in the dispute has been the disparity in the county’s role in the shelter and the city’s role. According to the animal shelter, 32 percent of animals picked up by the shelter are from the city, while 67 percent are from the county. This despite Smithville contributing $115,000 to the shelter, compared to the county’s $3,000.
Director Bennett asked the budget committee for the $39,805 to fund another position and for the county to contribute more towards their fair share considering the disproportionate amount of animals picked up in the county. This didn’t sit well with some county commissioners, who pointed to a previous agreement with the coalition.
“Five or six years ago the Coalition came here and signed a contract that they would never come before us again,” Commissioner Jerry Adcock told the committee. Adcock referred to an agreement with the coalition for one-time funds from the county to help establish the animal shelter. “You’d think that taking care of children we’d pay a little more than taking care of an animal. The coalition lied to us when they came to us. You want to give to a unit that said they would never come back before us.”
But other commissioners said that the county is not taking responsibility for a county problem. “If the city can pay $115,000, and here’s the county paying $3,000 … are you kidding me?” responded Commissioner Jenny Trapp. “They provide a service to the county more than they do to the city. The city is paying more, and it should be us. I make a motion that we fund that $39,805.” Commissioner Beth Pafford seconded the motion.
While the motion was made, the discussion continued. “The majority of the animals, the intake, is coming from the county, Commissioner Trapp said. “We have an obligation to keep the shelter running adequately, and this will help. If we can sit there and fund 911, we can fund the fire department, it’s not so hard to fund the animal shelter, which provides care for these animals that come in. They neuter and they spay them, and give them their shots. I don’t understand why it is not a priority. It should be. Animal shelters grow. They’ve come a long way since then.”
Some commissioners wanted to know how the county worked with the animal shelter, and County Mayor Tim Stribling clarified the county’s procedure for picking up stray animals in the county. “If someone calls my office and says they’ve got an aggressive dog, I tell them to call dispatch at 215-3000 to dispatch an officer to the scene. If that officer determines that animal is aggressive he calls the animal shelter to pick the dog up.”
“The other scenario is if someone has a dog that comes and lays out on their back porch, they feel sorry for it and they feed it for two or three days, and it doesn’t go away, they can call my office and I contact the shelter. Unless they’re full, I’d say 99 percent of the time, they go and pick up the dog. I usually put animal control in contact with the person that called me.”
While some recognized the need for the county to contribute more to the shelter, they questioned the amount which would have a starting pay of $15 an hour. Commissioner Sabrina Farler pointed out that the county doesn’t start any administration position at $39,805 or more. “We definitely do need to support the animal shelter at more than $3,000, but I do think we need to consider the pay scale. Our administrative staff, we have no one starting at $31,000. We just approved a position for Mr. Green [DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green] for raising a position from $12 to $15 an hour. I’m just saying that $15 an hour if pretty hefty salary to start with, when you think of what we’ve done across the county.”
“Mr. Hale [EMS Director Hoyt Hale] had some $10 an hour employees last year,” Farler continued. “Mr. Green had some at $12 that we moved to $15 just now, in our administrative staff, no one starting out starts at $31,000. Our educational system salaries start at $13,000 a year. We need to be aware when we start adding a position. What scale are they at?”
Commissioner Scott Little reasserted the main facts of the issue. “One fact is that two thirds of the animals come from the county, and the other fact is that the city pays $115,000 a year to them and we pay $3,000 a year to them. I don’t think there is any way you can look at that and say, ‘That’s okay.’”
Commissioner Trapp then restated her motion, “I make a motion that we accept the animal shelter’s request for $39,805 for a full time employee.”
The motion was put to a vote, being adopted by the committee by one vote. Commissioners Beth Pafford, Jenny Trapp, Julie Young, and Scott Little voted yes, while Jerry Adcock, Jeff Barnes, and Sabrina Farler each voted no.
The budget will still need approval by the whole County commission.
