Eighteen months after Grand Traverse County cut its Animal Control department – then later moved to partially reinstate staffing, hiring one part-time officer last October and another part-time specialist in May – the department continues to struggle to keep up with demand, prompting concerns and complaints from the community.

Grand Traverse County commissioners will discuss Animal Control at a study session Wednesday at 5:30pm at the Governmental Center. County Administrator Tom Menzel says the study session was scheduled at the request of Commissioner Cheryl Gore Follette to address complaints and the status of staffing and operations in the department (Gore Follette could not be reached for comment).

“I’m sure there were complaints, and this board is very receptive to anyone coming in and complaining,” says Menzel. “Based on that, the board wants to have a discussion. We will give them as much information as we can from a historical perspective and the changes we’ve made (in Animal Control).”

After eliminating two full-time Animal Control officers in January 2016 for budget reasons, county administrators later approved reinstating staffing to the department – but stressed Animal Control could no longer be subsidized by the county general fund and would need to be self-sustaining. The department is funded almost exclusively by dog license fees, which will bring in an estimated $128,000 in 2017.

After department expenses – including contracts with the Cherryland Humane Society and local veterinary offices, plus vehicles, rent, equipment and other operational costs – under $55,000 remains to pay for staffing. In 2017, those costs are divided between a part-time animal control officer working 25 hours per week year-round ($37,877), a seasonal animal control specialist working part-time for six months ($9,000), and dedicated staff time for Environmental Health/Animal Control Director Tom Buss, who oversees kennel inspections and other department functions ($8,000).

While Animal Control staffing hours are ramping up for the summer – its busiest season – budget constraints require reducing payroll the rest of the year. Health Officer/Director Wendy Trute acknowledges “one part-time Animal Control officer is not enough dedicated staff time for this program,” but says the department budget is “maximized,” with no funds available to pay for more employee hours.

“It’s a challenging department,” Trute says. “It’s not a mandated program, like many are in the county. But we’re in a community of a certain size, so definitely there’s the demand and need for it.”

Department data shows Animal Control responded to 187 complaints between January 1 and May 12, including 106 loose/stray dog complaints and 46 neglect/abuse cases (the data does not reflect multiple visits per case). Trute notes each case is often time-consuming and complex, requiring lengthy phone conversations, complaint responses and case investigations. In Grand Traverse County, where Animal Control staff are not deputized and the department is not run by the Sheriff’s Office – as is the case in many jurisdictions – staff are not allowed to carry guns, Tasers, mace or other protective equipment. That often leads to further delays in cases, necessitating staff to call in the Sheriff’s Office to assist or take over investigations.

“If there’s a hint of danger, they’re going to call in law enforcement to back them up,” Trute says.

Deputizing Animal Control officers could be one possible staffing solution, says Trute – though that would require the approval and cooperation of the Sheriff’s Office. Another option would be to increase revenues to Animal Control to pay for more staff time. Dog license fees were raised in 2016, but the department could look at either raising them again or work on community awareness campaigns to register more animals, says Trute. The county could also revise its Animal Control ordinance to charge fines for violations instead of issuing citations. Revenues from citations go to the courts, but revenues from fines could go to Animal Control.

The department is also trying to cut costs, particularly sheltering costs at the Cherryland Humane Society. The county has 10 dedicated kennels for Animal Control at the shelter, but those kennels are “often full and there is not back-up space if needed,” says Trute. One particular challenge is sheltering animals long-term whose owners are either incarcerated or under investigation. There is “considerable cost” for holding such animals for a lengthy period of time, according to Trute. “In those situations, we’re trying to get (the owners) to surrender the pets or else find long-term foster or adoption homes for them,” she says.

Multiple northern Michigan counties – including Benzie, Kalkaska, Otsego and Roscommon – support their Animal Control services through a millage. That could be an option in Grand Traverse County if there was public and commission support for it. Most other counties subsidize Animal Control through their general funds, including Antrim, Charlevoix, Lake and Mason. Of the above nine counties, only Grand Traverse requires its Animal Control department to be self-sustaining through collected fees.

That leaves one final option: County commissioners could elect to drop Animal Control’s self-sustaining requirement and once again boost funding to the department from the county’s general fund. Menzel says he’s prepared for that possibility to be raised Wednesday, but in the face of the county’s mounting pension debt, will suggest commissioners have a rigorous discussion before considering such a measure.

“If there’s a requirement from the board to have more resources allocated to that department, I’d ask them to tell me where to find those (in the budget),” says Menzel. “This county is now at the point in its history where all decisions are based on economics. We must keep mandated services in place first, and secondary are services like Animal Control that we’ve been happy to provide. But if we have to make cuts, those are the programs we look at first. There’s no getting around it.”