The Flagler County government estimates that taxpayers would spend $420,000 in the first year and an average of $333,000 annually, which is nearly equal to the $304,000 allocated for that this year, if it were to operate its own animal control business independently of the Flagler Humane Society. The non-profit Flagler Humane Society currently provides the service under a contract with the Flagler County government. In 2021, the cost was $237,000, and it has since increased by 28%.
According to County Commissioner Kim Carney, the figures are untrustworthy and are intended to undermine the motion to secede from the Humane Society. Although the commission instructed its administration to have a strategy developed before the next one-year contract with the society expires, Commissioner Leann Pennington, who is also interested in breaking away, is not happy with the slow pace of progress in that direction.
The topic, which was covered at the conclusion of a commission workshop on Wednesday (chaired by Pennington instead of Andy Dance, who had already left because he was recuperating from surgery), highlighted tensions between the county government and the Humane Society as well as between certain commissioners and the county administration.
Because of the non-profit’s lack of transparency, overpopulation, and constant public criticism, the county and Palm Coast have lost faith in the Humane Society. Although Palm Coast has its own animal control branch, it collaborates with the Humane Society because it lacks a shelter of its own. The same would apply to the county.
The only shelter in the county is the society’s. It lacks the funds to expand, despite its desire to do so. There have been some talks in the county about operating a shelter on its own or perhaps hiring the sheriff to do so. Conceptual generalities have not been explored in any of the debates. Building a shelter is quite costly, and maintaining one is not cheap. There doesn’t seem to be any practical way to proceed with that idea. The county running its own animal control program is the only alternative choice.
In the midst of their pressure on County Administrator Heidi Petito to reduce expenses and, if feasible, shut down services (as was the case on Wednesday when Commissioner Kim Carney proposed ending the county’s elderly day care operation), the county commissioners requested that the administration prepare figures detailing the costs of animal services as a division of county government.
In contrast to the contract with the Humane Society, which has been growing since 2020, the figures Petito provided on Wednesday included capital costs that would reoccur every five years and yearly costs that would increase at a rate of 5% annually. Vehicles would be considered capital costs.
“I don’t know if we can really move forward with it at this point because we don’t have all the pieces,” Petito added. As the county considers entering into a contract with the city, she wants to factor in Palm Coast’s animal control expenses.
Commissioner Kim Carney expressed dissatisfaction with the findings, claiming it was destined to fail.
She questioned figures like the $3,000 cost of two sets of uniforms (which would be over five years), the $9,600 cost of smartphones and radios for two staff, and so on, saying, “I just can’t believe it’s a half a million dollars to get started in the animal control business.” She said, “It just makes me have more questions.” Two automobiles to accommodate two drivers. Where do these folks spend their days until they receive a call telling them they need to go pick up a dog? All day, what do they do?
Petito became frustrated, as Carney’s inquiries frequently do. It was the end of a workshop that had been tense for most of the time. Petito was being chastised for the data she had prepared, which the commission had requested, but with the disclaimer that they were not full.
Her tone implied that she was trying to ask, “What do you want from me?”In actuality, she stated: As I previously stated, we are not in the animal control industry at this time. Because I didn’t receive answers to some of my questions and concerns, it’s very difficult to develop a budget when you don’t know the extent and size of what they truly accomplish. It’s a shot in the dark, as I said.
As he explained to Carney the range of responsibilities expected of animal control agents that extend well beyond dog pickup, County Attorney Al Hadeed, who was constantly aware of the tensions in the room, made an attempt at a rescue. He and Carney also disagreed on the $67,000 technician’s price. I’m not attempting to defend or refute this. He said, “I’m just attempting to explain the function.”
Based on 500 animals collected in unincorporated Flagler County the previous year, Palm Coast did provide Petito with extremely approximate estimates. When Carney criticized her, she displayed those on a screen. Palm Coast’s advertised price would be more like $400,000 year, but the numbers are subject to change. Carney wasn’t happy.
Five hundred dogs. Carney acknowledged, “I know we don’t run this service seven days a week.” Either two to three dogs per day, or less than two dogs per day. This is beyond comprehension. This is not credible. It doesn’t make sense.
According to Commissioner Leann Pennington, it would be more sensible to begin with one officer rather than two if the county were to establish its own organization. Commissioner Greg Hansen issued a warning: the county cannot have a limit of three dogs each day. “It’s not that simple,” he stated. They are available as needed. Their crystal ball is not with them. If they receive a call, they are prepared to leave. So just exercise caution. Take caution. According to Hansen, animal control ought to be a county service that operates in both the county and the cities, much like an ambulance service.
Carney didn’t want to imply that. According to her, the goal is to pool resources and integrate operations with Palm Coast in order to increase efficiency. According to Carney, the way they’re presenting this makes it seem like they’re creating an entirely new division for Flagler County Animal Control. I don t think we need a whole new department. I would like to see some integration or sharing. This isn’t integrating.
According to Petito, if the agreement with the county is only for a year, Palm Coast is not interested in hiring more employees. (For a year, a few commissioners had discussed undertaking the experiment.)
Despite the county’s one-year agreement with the Humane Society, Pennington stated, “It’s becoming more evident to me that it’s not going to be something that’s solved this year because of the delays.” However, I believe that in August, we should return it to the board and reach a resolution.
That is unlikely. To discuss the cooperative activities, the county and city governments will meet in August. According to Petito, the City Council and the County Commission will not be holding a joint meeting on the matter before August 27.
It was Pennington s turn to be frustrated. There s a lot of people here that worked hard for a year to get to this point, and I apologize that we re not at that point, Pennington said meaning the point where the county could plan to sever its animal control operations from the Humane Society. I thought that was pretty clear when we went into contracts last year, that we wanted to see other options. And it’s obvious that the year got to everyone. We shall not, however, slow down our pace. We will keep going forward on this.
