19 (11)
Susana Barrios
From:Laura Lawther <lalawther@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, June
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] City Meeting 06/27/23- Agenda Item 19 Re: OCAC 22% increase
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To the Mayor and City Council Members:
I would like to address the council on item #19 regarding the city contract
with OC animal care. The county has presented the city with a 22%
increase and as a taxpayer, I would like to know what I am receiving for that
significant jump in cost relative to the current services that we are being
provided.
Currently the shelter is off limits to the public to find an adoptable animal.
OC Animal Care continues its restrictive online appointment only COVID
policy, which has long been abandoned by other animal shelters. Using this
appointment only process, limits access for low-income residents and
seniors who may not have access to the technology to search for animals
online. It also stops working families who only have time during the
weekend to visit shelters to see adoptable pets.
The shelter is also off limits if you lose your pet. In fact, did you know if your
cat gets lost and someone finds it and takes it to OC animal care they will
be turned away? They will not even scan the cat for a microchip. This does
not sound like services that we should be paying the county millions of
dollars for.
Secondly, the county is responsible to provide TNR- trap, neuter, return- to
the city and yet they refuse to and no one is holding them accountable.
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Meanwhile neighborhoods are being overrun by feral cats and nonprofit
rescue groups are being inundated with residents asking for help. Every
time OC Animal Care are asked why they no longer provide TNR, they cite
a recommendation from County Counsel, however there is no evidence of
this that can be found. Even the Grand Jury, in the report released this
week, couldn’t get a straight answer from the county when they pressed
them on the reason why they stopped the TNR program. In fact, the entire
County Counsel office had to recuse itself from their investigation and the
Grand Jury had to seek outside independent counsel which significantly
delayed their investigation.
It would seem to me that the County is going to great lengths to hide the
reasoning behind why we are not receiving yet another service that is being
paid for. I am asking the council to request a formal audit of OC Animal
Care and to start to reevaluate how the city of Anaheim would like to provide
animal services to its residents. I am confident that local nonprofit animal
rescue groups could do much more with 5 million dollars a year than the
bureaucrats in charge at the county level.
Thank you,
Laura Lawther
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