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City nears handover of animal control enforcement to SPCA

Jul 17, 2018 | 8:00 AM

After a report showed some municipal bylaws officers spent nearly 40 per cent of their time responding to animal control issues, Prince Albert’s Board of Police Commissioners decided money could be saved by handing these duties off to a third party.

In June, the city’s executive committee voted to send the new Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw to Monday’s council meeting for approval. The new bylaw aimed to repeal the current legislation and implement a new agreement that would see the SPCA take over animal control operations.

For some time, the Board of Police Commissioners has desired to contract these services to a third party, largely to save costs and free up bylaw officers to enforce more relevant bylaws. An agreement was penned between the agencies to test the new service until Dec. 31, 2019, only requiring the new bylaw to get started. The police service would pay the SPCA $75,000 per year, pro-rated for 2018. This means should the service start in September, the city would only pay the SPCA $25,000, but would then pay the full amount in 2019. A report on the new service would come back for review prior to the program’s end date. 

The new bylaw failed to gain leave for a third reading Monday night, opposed by councillors Terra Lennox-Zepp and Charlene Miller, and will come back at the next council meeting for final approval. Lennox-Zepp previously grilled city staff and City Manager Jim Toye on a long list of concerns, from service levels to prior offences and training.

During the debate around the bylaw change, Mayor Greg Dionne outlined a rough estimate of cost savings for the city. As chair of the police commission, Dionne figured upwards of $200,000 will be freed up on the city’s books. Further funds could be protected down the road as well, as Dionne said the police commission will have a strategic planning meeting on the future of bylaw operations in the city.

“Some [bylaw officers] were only assigned to cats and dogs, so further savings are to be expected in 2019 budget,” he said.

“When you see the budget, we are not going to need as many bylaw officers,” Dionne told media after the meeting. “A bylaw [officer] is $80,000 a year.”

The SPCA will hire new employees to fill the roles, and an old undercover police cruiser with low mileage was donated to the organization by the police commission, according to Dionne, which is being fitted with decals and painted by the animal welfare agency. It was valued at $5,000 and was “part of the thank-you for taking over the dogs and cats.”

Previously, some local lawmakers held trepidation over the training for the new animal control officers and how any dangerous animal issues would be addressed. Dionne maintained both bylaw and police officers will still respond to dangerous animal calls should the SPCA need assistance.

 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr