$3.4M Animal Shelter budget stays on books

From the Courier By Catherine Dominguez |  Sunday, September 4, 2016 8:38 pm

$3.4M Animal Shelter budget stays on books

Jim Clark

After announcing he would work to lower the Montgomery County Animal Shelter budget to $2.2 million, Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark said that move isn’t possible and the budget will stay at $3.4 million for fiscal year 2016-17.

Commissioners are set to adopt the budget at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court Building, located at 501 N. Thompson on the fourth floor.

During an Aug. 23 public hearing, he suggested a reduction in the MCAS budget but said he had not visited with Shelter Director Todd Hayden about those details. Within days of that statement, Clark reversed his plans and said it is clear the budget cannot be reduced.

According to Clark, the fiscal year 2015-16 budget for MCAS was $2.2 million, with the county paying $1.5 million of that via a contract for the private operations of the shelter. He said 21,000 animals were taken in during the year, for an average of approximately $104 spent per animal.

“This compares favorably with other facilities, including Galveston County at $125, Collin County at $171, Fort Bend County at $213 and city of Houston Animal Shelter at $317,” Clark stated in a release Wednesday.

Nationwide statistics from the Humane Society, Clark noted, indicate the average cost for shelter services is $8 per person, per year. Based on Montgomery County’s current population, that would run to an annual budget of $4.4 million.

However, Clark said with new programs in place, there is an opportunity to reduce the budget in the future.

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