HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-16-122 - Kitchener-Waterloo and North Waterloo Humane Society Request for Additional Compensation for Animal Control, Dog Licensing, and By-law Services
REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: August 8, 2016
SUBMITTED BY: Jennifer Sheryer, Assistant City Solicitor, 519 741-2200 ext.7265
PREPARED BY: Jennifer Sheryer, Assistant City Solicitor, 519 741-2200 ext.7265
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: July 20, 2016
REPORT NO.: FCS-16-122
SUBJECT: KITCHENER-WATERLOO AND NORTH WATERLOO HUMANE SOCIETY
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION FOR ANIMAL CONTROL, DOG
LICENSING, AND BY-LAW SERVICES
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RECOMMENDATION:
That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an amendment to the Animal
and Dog Control and Pound Services Agreement dated January 1, 2014 with the
Kitchener-Waterloo and North Waterloo Humane Society providing for a one-time
payment of $137,400 be made by the City in August 2016, as additional
compensation for animal control, dog licensing, and by-law services in the City of
Kitchener.
BACKGROUND:
The Humane Society has been a valued partner with the City for over 90 years. The
Humane Society is contracted to provide:
the City pound facility and performance of legislated Poundkeeper duties
in accordance with by-laws and legislation;
by-law enforcement services pertaining to the City’s by-laws regarding
dogs and animals including the designations of potentially dangerous,
dangerous, and prohibited dogs;
inspections of exhibitions/circuses involving animals, pet shops, kennels,
boarding kennels, and doggy daycares pursuant to applicable by-laws;
catching and impounding of stray dogs, picking up stray cats, and picking
up injured or dying wild and domestic animals;
removal and disposal of dead animals from public places;
assistance to the Fire Department and Waterloo Regional Police Services
in capturing, removing, and sheltering domestic animals;
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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assistance to the City in creation or refinement of by-laws respecting
animals;
administration of the City’s dog licensing by-law program; and
administration of the spay and neuter program contributed to by the City.
Our current contract with the Humane Society runs from January 1, 2014 to December
31, 2017. During contractual negotiations, the Humane Society highlighted that
previous contract payment amounts were insufficient to fund the services required by
the City.
The City and the Humane Society looked for creative solutions to increase funding to
the Humane Society while minimizing the impact on taxpayers. The final agreement
was affordable for the City. However, the Humane Society’s funding increases were
heavily dependent on the Humane Society being able to sell more dog licences.
The base payment from the City to the Humane Society has not increased since 2013
and remains at $505,053 for each year of the current contract. The first $209,335 of
licensing revenue collected by the Humane Society is given to the City. The Humane
Society keeps licensing revenue over $209,335 up to certain limits. If the limits were
exceeded (which has not happened), revenue would then be split with the City.
The Humane Society made good efforts to increase dog licensing. In 2014 it undertook
various initiatives including the appointment of a dedicated licensing officer, proactive
enforcement including a summer student program that included 2 staff going door to
door in neighborhoods selling dog licenses, and follow up visits with owners who had
not renewed their dog licences. The expense of these efforts depleted the Humane
Society’s resources without producing the anticipated increases in dog licensing sales.
The Humane Society concluded that increases in revenue were insufficient to justify the
cost of the additional licensing efforts.
Dog licensing revenue dropped in 2015. In September 2015 the Humane Society had
to decrease expenditures on the program as it was not producing the anticipated
results.
REPORT:
This report is being brought forward in response to a direct request from the Humane
Society. As set out in Humane Society’s request, which is attached, the Humane
Society has not obtained the licensing sales that it anticipated. The Humane Society
has indicated its licensing revenue has been between $175,000 and $200,000 less than
it anticipated annually.
In 2014 the City amended the Responsible Dog Ownership By-law to implement a 12
month dog licence. The intent of this change was to facilitate dog licence sales at all
times of the year and to ensure that every person purchasing a dog licence had the
benefit of a full year licence.
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As a result of the 12 month dog licence, some revenue from the sale of most dog
licences must be attributed to the next calendar year. For example, if a dog licence is
purchased in July 2016, half of the purchase price would be applied to the 2017
calendar year. Dog licensing revenue attributable to 2018 but collected in 2017 (the last
year of the contract) would belong to the City unless negotiated as part of the revenue
for a future contract.
In 2015, the first year where 12 month licences were sold, the Humane Society had to
attribute $137,400 of revenue from licences sold in 2015 to the 2016 calendar year.
This is revenue that would formerly have been received by the Humane Society as part
of its 2015 compensation.
The Humane Society has told us that the current payments under the contract are
insufficient to cover its costs in providing services to the City.
To assist in addressing these financial issues, the Humane Society is asking the City to
contribute a one-time payment of $137,400. This amount is equal to the 2015 dog
licensing revenue deferral amount. However, it is intended that the amount will assist
the Humane Society with the overall impact of insufficient funding for contractual
services. The Humane Society has been clear that although this contribution will assist
it, it does not fully address the financial challenges it is undergoing in relation to its
Agreement with the City.
Financial planning staff have reviewed internal financial information provided by the
Humane Society and can verify the negative financial impact of the new 12 month dog
licensing structure on its 2015 revenues. Overall, financial planning staff believes that
the recommended one-time payment will represent a meaningful contribution towards
the sustainability of the Humane Society.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports the Community Priorities of Quality of Life
as well as the delivery of core service as contained in the City’s Strategic Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The 137,400 payment was not budgeted for and would be an over-expenditure of the
City’s budget for animal control services. This would represent a negative variance of
$137,400 and, all other things being equal, reduce the projected 2016 operating surplus
from $458,363 to $320,963 which has the similar effect of reducing the year end
transfer to the tax stabilization reserve fund.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
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INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in
advance of the council / committee meeting.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Dan Chapman, Deputy CAO
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