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On April 4th the Marana Town Council voted not to renew a contract with Pima County for animal services (enforcement and licensing). This decision was made following nearly a year of research and discussions with Pima County administration on how to best serve our residents and their pets.

Leading up to this meeting were comments from concerned citizens, many of whom had worked directly for or as volunteers with PACC. They spoke passionately on behalf of Pima Animal Care Center (PACC), its no-kill policy, the compassionate care that animals received, and their frustration that the Countys new animal control shelter, paid for with a recent $22m bond voted on by county citizens, would now be unavailable to Marana residents. These are all valid concerns, and I want to explain why I voted for severance from the County in our animal control services.

Maranas relationship with PACC goes back to the Towns founding, but recent problems stem from cost increases the County has imposed partner communities. Pima Animal Control services are paid for with county taxes we all pay, but incorporated areas like Marana, Tucson, Sahuarita and Oro Valley are billed in addition to these taxes. The services that the County provides to Maranas residents are the same as those provided to county residents, but at an increased cost to our towns citizens as a result of this extra billing.

This County billing has increased from $10,000 per year in fiscal year 06-07 to around $230,000 for this year, an increase of over 2300%. During the same period, all County residents were billed through their property taxes. Maranas residents pay County taxes too, so for me this is about equality in what a tax payer is charged for services.

All local municipalities face this imbalanceCounty taxes plus extra billing, with no additional services. Our staff has appealed to the County for a more equitable system but they have been unwilling even to discuss the matter. For instance, when we asked County administration if we could reduce costs by managing individual elements of our contract, we were politely told no.

Under these circumstances, we decided to part ways and establish our own program, contracting with the Humane Society for sheltering, and hiring our own animal control staff to provide dedicated service for our citizens. Marana residents will not see any increase in the Towns expenditures, since these costs would have to be paid to the County anyway. And we know that we can provide better service for the same money.

The County priced itself to a level where Marana can consider running its own program, better, with the same dollars. I believe weve made the right decision and with vigilant oversight, we can look forward to providing excellent animal control services to the residents of Marana.

Dave Bowen

Read the rest here:
Animal control debate in Marana - Tucson Local Media