Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER AMENDING THE SERVICE LEVEL PLAN AND RESOLUTION NO. 22-035 AMENDING THE FY 21/22 BUDGET FOR THE ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL CONTRACT
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I. SUMMARY
On August 3, 2021, City Council approved the purchase of an animal control vehicle from Fairway Ford. As the automobile industry continues to face a global microchip shortage which has caused longer than expected delays in production, the delivery of the purchased animal control vehicle is expected to arrive in June or July of 2022.
On account of the above, the City’s in-house animal control officer is not able to provide service for large animals. Staff is, therefore, seeking City Council approval to amend Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (LADACC) service level plan from Limited field service days- Mondays through Thursdays: 6:01pm to 6:59am and Friday through Sundays: 24 hours Priority 1 calls only to Limited field services - Mondays through Sundays 24 hours Priority One calls only. (Exhibit 1). Priority One calls involve injured animals, public safety risks due to aggressive animals, lost or found pets and situations in which an animal’s owner has been arrested or passed away with no family to pick up the animal.
In addition, due to the temporary increase in the number of hours of LADACC service, the animal care and control account budget will have to be augmented to cover the cost of temporary expanded services.
Staff is also requesting the adoption of Resolution No. 22-035 (Exhibit 2) to amend the FY 21/22 budget.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. APPROVE amending the Service Level Plan request for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control contract field service level to Limited Field - Mondays through Sundays, 24 hours a day, Priority One calls only for FY 2021/22.
2. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 22-035, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CARSON CITY COUNCIL, AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2021/22 BUDGET IN THE GENERAL FUND.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
1. DO NOT APPROVE staff recommendations.
and
2. TAKE any other action the City Council deems appropriate that is consistent with the requirements of the law.
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IV. BACKGROUND
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal and Control (LADACC) has provided the City with animal care and control services since 1968. In 2018, the County informed the City that based on a comprehensive study of the LADACC’s cost structure and billing methodology, it was determined that the County was not charging enough to recover costs and a new billing method was recommended. In anticipation of the increased new billing, City Council approved to hire an in-house Animal Control Officer (ACO) to reduce costs.
On January 2021, an ACO was hired and was given an existing City vehicle to use. Unfortunately, the vehicle caught on fire and could no longer be used.
On August 3, 2021, City Council authorized the purchase of an F250 truck from Fairway Ford for the ACO’s use. Due to the global microchip shortage causing longer than expected production delays, the purchased vehicle is estimated to arrive June or July 2022. Although the ACO is able to do most field services with a current City vehicle, he is unable to handle large animal cases and has to defer the cases to the County. The current FY 21/22 field service level the City has requested from the County is limited to Mondays through Thursdays: 6:01pm to 6:59am and Friday through Sundays: 24 hours Priority One calls only (calls involving large animals). Priority One calls made outside the City’s requested service dates and times are billed extra to the City.
As the ACO is temporarily unable to provide service for Priority One calls with the existing City vehicle he is using, staff is therefore seeking City Council approval to change the City’s field service level plan from “Limited field service on Mondays through Thursdays: 6:01pm to 6:59am and Fridays thru Sundays: 24 hours Priority One calls only” to “Limited field service on Mondays thru Sundays, 24 hours a day- Priority One calls only” until the purchased vehicle is received by the ACO.
The change of service level to 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, Priority One calls only will result in increased billing from the County. Consequently, the animal control budget will have to be augmented. With the combined new billing methodology enforced by the County and the increased service hours for Priority One calls, the County has projected animal care and control budget costs for the next five years as follows: See Exhibit 3 for details.
Based on the above County projections the animal control account will require a $134,000.00 increase in budget. The increase will come from unused budget within the City Manager’s, Public Safety and Emergency Services accounts
V. FISCAL IMPACT
If Council approves staff recommendations, funds available within the City Manager department will be used as detailed in Resolution No. 22-035. No additional funds will be requested from the general fund.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Service Level Request (SLR)
2. Resolution No. 22-035
3. LACDACC Yearly estimated costs
Prepared by: Gina Trinidad, Administrative Analyst