Spokane could raise pet fees

License fees for spayed and neutered pets would almost double under a proposal that will be considered Monday by the Spokane City Council.

The new rate for spayed and neutered dogs in the city of Spokane would be $25 – up from $13 and $5 higher than the fee charged in Spokane Valley and in the unincorporated county, and more than what’s charged by the other five most-populous Washington cities. The fee for spayed and neutered cats would increase from $8 to $15.

Cheryl Mitchell, a local animal law attorney, said she’s concerned that some folks will stop licensing their pets because of the higher prices.

“They have no understanding of the people who are working at fast-food restaurants and the people who are working at minimum wage,” she said.

But Spokane leaders say the new prices still fall short of covering the cost of animal control.

“Twenty-five dollars for your pet to be licensed is pretty reasonable in 2008 dollars,” Spokane Mayor Mary Verner said.

City Councilman Al French said the rate makes sense considering recent significant increases in the cost SpokAnimal C.A.R.E. has charged the city.

“We’re having to play catch-up,” French said.

Nancy Hill, director of Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, said she would prefer licensing fees be uniform across the county to avoid confusion.

But Dave Steele, who has led the city’s efforts to find a new animal control agency, said the new rates are within the range considered reasonable by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The city pays SpokAnimal about $625,000 a year for animal control. The contract allows the group to keep all of the fees it charges, an amount estimated to be about $600,000, Steele said.

Spokane has been looking for a new provider for animal control since SpokAnimal told the city more than two years ago that it wanted to become a no-kill shelter and had no interest in continuing the city’s contract.

After considering starting their own agency, city officials worked with the county’s animal control department, SCRAPS, to create one regional program.

The county and city are finishing a proposed contract that would let the county take over the city’s animal control needs in 2010.

Under the plan, the city would pay the county about $1.5 million to run animal control. The higher license fees are expected to raise about $850,000 a year, leaving taxpayers to cover about the same amount they do under the SpokAnimal contract, Steele said.

City Councilman Al French called the proposed merger a “permanent, reliable solution.”

He noted that no groups expressed interest in performing the city’s animal control when it went out to bid last year.

Under the proposal, the city would have to pay for a $3 million expansion to the SCRAPS shelter in Spokane Valley. Steele said the city might ask voters for a bond in November. Building a new stand-alone shelter would cost almost twice that, Steele said.

City Councilman Bob Apple is fighting the proposal. He said that SCRAPS costs too much and that SpokAnimal officials could change their minds.

Laura Thulean, SpokAnimal operations director, declined to comment on SpokAnimal’s intentions.

Steele, who is the city’s real estate manager, said that as recently as Tuesday SpokAnimal director Gail Mackie confirmed that the group had no interest in continuing the city’s contract. But, Steele added, Mackie told him later in the week that Apple had been lobbying SpokAnimal board members.

Dave Richardson, executive director of the Spokane Humane Society, said he supports having SCRAPS handle all the animal control needs within the county. That, he said, would alleviate confusion among pet owners.

“Having a regional animal control center would definitely help individuals find animals that are missing,” Richardson said.

Mitchell said animal control functions should be handled by a government agency like SCRAPS to give the public more accountability. Mitchell recently helped win a $40,000 settlement from the city for Animal Advocates of the Northwest because of problems the group experienced getting open records from SpokAnimal.

Mitchell added that the county has a better track record investigating animal cruelty cases. This year, a SCRAPS investigation led to convictions in a high-profile dogfighting case.