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After municipalities complained about a proposed rate hike for stray animal care, Humane League officials came up with a compromise.
It still has to be approved by the Humane League's board of directors on Tuesday, but Joan Brown, the organization's president, said Thursday that the group has come up with another proposed option.
As the county's repository for stray dogs and cats, the Humane League charges municipalities a flat rate based on the number of residents in each area.
But in an effort to cope with its own growing costs, the Humane League announced in July that it would be raising its rates from 30 cents to 60 cents per resident in 2010, then increasing it again to $1 per resident in 2011.
Municipal leaders across the county howled — not only because the total fee would go up, but because in some cases it would equate to hundreds of dollars for each stray animal.
The proposed compromise, Brown said, targets that specific concern.
For the municipalities that bring in only a couple dogs a year, Brown said, "of course that wasn't fair."
So, Brown said, the organization created another way to calculate the annual fee, basing it on the average number of dogs and cats brought into the Humane League during the previous three years.
A municipality can use either that number or the per-capita figure to calculate its bill to the Humane League.
"The lesser fee is the one we charge," Brown said. "It might be more palatable for them."
Take Akron, for example.
Based on the 60-cents rate, the per capita figure for 2010 would be $2,428, Brown said.
The average number of animals turned into the Humane League from Akron each year, she said, is four dogs and 19 cats.
Based on a per-animal rate of $75 per cat and $125 per dog, Brown said, Akron's recalculated per-animal fee would be $1,925.
"The true cost of caring for an animal is $155," Brown said. That includes space, food, veterinary care and spaying or neutering of the animal.
"We would like to work with the municipalities," Brown said, adding that she hopes offering an alternative, less expensive option will make the rate more acceptable.
The question remains, if they don't sign a contract with the Humane League, what other options do municipalities have for animal control?
"If they don't contract with us, what will happen if their dog gets lost?" Brown said.
If the proposal is approved Tuesday by the board of directors, a new contract and a new letter will be sent out across the county, Brown said.
Another issue to be raised before the board of directors on Tuesday, Brown said, is a request by some of the municipalities to charge just for the dogs.
On that subject, Brown was not as flexible.
"Cats are the bigger part of the problem," Brown said. "There are twice as many stray cats than dogs, and they are just as much of a public concern" for health issues.
Also, domestic cats, if they're abandoned, need shelter, food and care, just like lost dogs.
"Missionwise and pragmatically," Brown said, "we need to care for both dogs and cats."
