Humane Society employee Jessica Laris plays with Horizon, a dog that was rescued from a moving truck along with other dogs who suffered from frostbite.(Photo: Michael Lehmkuhle/The Advocate)
Story Highlights
Humane Society wants $95,000 yearly in county money to pay for animal care in humane-agent cases.
County finance officials: Dog and Kennel Fund now contains just over $531,000 in unencumbered funds.
Newly created funds will set aside up to $1.2 million over 10 years for building & vehicle needs.
NEWARK – Licking County Humane Society representatives say increasing animal rescues have escalated the nonprofit agency’s costs enough to ask county officials for a $95,000 annual shot in the arm.
Meanwhile, county officials recently established two funds — setting aside up to $600,000 in each over the next 10 years — to take care of building and vehicle needs for the Licking County Animal Shelter.
Lori Carlson, Humane Society executive director, questions that timing. Last month, she asked the Licking County commissioners to consider giving her agency $95,000 annually to cover the costs of animal care for increasing cases.
The county provides $1,500 a month, or $18,000 annually, to pay the salary of Humane Agent Paula Evans, who gets no benefits, Carlson said. The county pays nothing for the cost of providing care for the animals Evans rescues on its behalf.
Carlson wants to change that, and asked the commissioners to pay to cover feeding, housing and caring for the animals taken in by the humane agent to the Humane Society’s shelter at 825 Thornwood Drive, Heath.
So far, she has received no commitment. Carlson contends a surplus in the county’s Dog and Kennel Fund, sparked by healthy dog tag sales, contains plenty of money to offset her rising costs.
Carlson said her agency cannot continue to operate in the red and will have to stop providing the humane agent service if the county does not help out financially.
State law requires counties to provide the service but does allow them to contract for its execution.
If Licking County proves unwilling to increase its payment, Carlson said, the Humane Society will have to stop providing the service, which will revert to the sheriff’s office or the animal control department, which handled the task from the 1980s until 2010.
If that is the case, Carlson said she will notify the commissioners at least 30 days before the contract expires Dec. 31.
“It just feels like the commissioners aren’t recognizing that we have been doing a great job, and we can do it less expensively,” she said.
Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said the commissioners have been discussing planning for county shelter needs for several months with Animal Control Director John Silva.
“We’ve been asking him for a while to work out a long-term plan,” Bubb said. “Actually, we finally have some resources in place to fix the facility and equipment they use.”
The county’s animal shelter, built in 1991 at 544 Dog Leg Road, is in need of major updating, Silva said, which will be accomplished a section at a time while remaining open.
“It’ll be a challenge to keep the operation running smoothly,” he said.
Silva said the improvements will be phased in over the next 10 years and will include expanding animal environments and public areas while also making the facility more energy efficient. An architect will analyze the facility and draft new plans, he said.
To make the plans bear fruit, officials accept the need for funding.
“What I think we’re telling them is not just to plan for the future,” Bubb said, “but also to set aside money for it.”
County Commissioner Duane Flowers said the approach is to “think like a business for a change.”
Bubb said the county is looking to improve facilities for other county services, too, including the County Records Department and Child Support Enforcement Agency.
Bubb said setting aside Dog and Kennel Fund money for capital improvements for the county animal shelter is an appropriate use of the funds. He added that the county “doesn’t exist to underwrite every (nonprofit) agency’s budget.”
The county’s Dog and Kennel Fund contains just over $531,000 in unencumbered funds, according to Nick Adams, Licking County’s deputy clerk of finance.
That money accumulated over time, Silva said.
County Auditor Mike Smith said Dog and Kennel Fund money is generated through the sale of dogs, dog tags, cats and vaccines, as well as impound fees, fines, penalties and contributions. This year, most of that money — about $437,000 — will come from dog tag sales, Smith said.
Probate Judge Robert Hoover appointed Evans to serve as humane agent for the county’s unincorporated areas, taking over that role from the county in 2010, Carlson said. The county then paid her $350 a month, but that salary has grown to $1,500 monthly as her responsibilities have increased.
Evans rescued 35 animals in 2010, 98 in 2011, 136 in 2012 and 206 in 2013, Carlson said. That works out to an average cost of care per animal of $469.87, or $96,793 for last year. Costs include spaying/neutering, shots, room, board and vet bills for rescued animals.
Recent high-profile cases have included the rescue of 61 dogs found in a van in January at the Red Roof Inn in Hebron and the discovery of a puppy mill in St. Louisville in October 2013, Carlson said.
Carlson is asking the commissioners for the $95,000 to offset annual Humane Society budget deficits ranging from $51,000 to $84,000 since 2010.
“We’re willing to negotiate that number,” Carlson said, “but we have to get some assistance.”
She said her agency cannot continue to make up the deficit from the interest on its trust fund and must look to provide long-term sustainability.
The commissioners have taken the Humane Society request under advisement while heading into the annual budgeting season. Budget hearings with about 20 county department representatives will begin Nov. 6, Adams said.
The commissioners must approve an interim budget by the end of the year and a final budget by April 1, Adams said. This year’s countywide General Fund budget is $50.4 million, while all other funds total $113.8 million.
Adams said the 2015 county budgets should be in line with those numbers, but could increase by up to 2 percent.
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