Davis County officers weigh tax hike, planning new shelter to take care of stray canines, cats

FRUIT HEIGHTS — The increasing inhabitants base is not the one type of progress that is bought Davis County officers looking for solutions.

With an uptick in stray animals and homeowners surrendering their pets, Animal Care of Davis County, the only animal shelter within the county, is crunched for house and cash. It is prompted plans to construct a brand new $15-million shelter and has Davis County commissioners weighing a property tax hike to maintain tempo with the rising value of caring for the critters.

County Commissioner Lorene Kamalu pointed to the doubling up of canines in kennels on the shelter at instances, which is only one indicator of the problems at play. That is not superb for the canines and in addition prompts misery amongst their human caretakers.

“It takes a critical toll on everybody,” Kamalu stated. “It is simply approach too small, approach too previous.”

Plans to construct a brand new 32,000-square-foot facility on the grounds the place the present 11,000-square-foot shelter sits, in Fruit Heights, have been the main focus of discussions since, at the very least, 2020. Ashleigh Younger, director on the shelter, expects groundbreaking to happen later this yr, with the $15 million or so value to be coated by county financial savings. Concurrently, county leaders are proposing a $1.5 million or so property tax hike within the 2025 finances to rent extra employees and canopy growing operational prices.

Restricted staffing, notably in veterinary care, means some animals cannot get the medical consideration they want and should be euthanized, Younger stated. What’s extra, short-staffing means canines on the shelter cannot all the time get the routine consideration they want, and shelter staff aren’t as aware of the general public as they’d prefer to be. The shelter — a part of county authorities infrastructure — serves all 15 cities in Davis County, dealing with animal management duties and in addition caring for strays and different animals.

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“It is all of the operations,” stated Kamalu, referencing elements behind the proposed tax hike, together with the rising prices of caring for canines and cats and the elevated numbers of animals getting into the ability. The tax hike, if permitted, would bolster property tax income to the shelter to round $4 million, up some 60% from the 2023 determine of $2.5 million. It could value the proprietor of a mean residence in Davis County, price $526,000, about $11 a yr.

Kamalu and Younger have been visiting municipal leaders throughout Davis County one metropolis at a time to clarify the tax hike proposal. Animal shelters throughout the nation have been contending with an uptick in canines and cats.

“There appears to be an understanding of the necessity for it,” at the very least among the many municipal leaders who’ve been approached, Younger stated. Amongst different issues, the elevated funding would assist cowl the price of hiring a veterinarian, a veterinary assistant, an animal behavioral and coaching skilled, a part-time animal foster care coordinator and two workplace staffers.

The tax hike proposal, nonetheless being fine-tuned, could be the main focus of a truth-in-taxation listening to later this yr, most likely in November or December, in accordance with Davis County Auditor Curtis Koch. If county officers finally approve it as a part of Davis County’s 2025 finances, the rise would present up on property homeowners’ tax payments subsequent yr.

A spread of shortcomings

The necessity for a brand new shelter does not solely stem from the variety of animals getting into the ability. The unique constructing, inbuilt 1985, has a spread of shortcomings. “Not solely are the mechanical programs and air dealing with items unreliable and inefficient, the format of the whole facility is solely now not useful, offering no house to quarantine and look after sick animals,” reads an evidence of the constructing plans on-line.

However because the COVID-19 pandemic, the variety of animals getting into the shelter — reflecting a nationwide development — has jumped, exacerbating the problems. In 2021, the ability took in 3,960 animals, together with 1,560 canines and 1,989 cats, holding every for a mean of 14 days. In 2023, the shelter dealt with 4,866 critters, together with 1,857 canines and a pair of,613 cats, for a mean of 19 days.

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The uptick stems partly from inhabitants progress. Extra folks results in extra pets and extra potential strays. Nonetheless, the housing crunch additionally figures within the combine, Younger stated. If somebody cannot afford to purchase a house, they could hire as a substitute, and lots of residences do not allow pets or they cost greater rental charges for these with animals, prompting some to give up their animals to save cash.

Aside from that, the shelter has transitioned to a no-kill facility, which means fewer animals are euthanized, doubtlessly leading to longer stays for animals as properties are sought. “That is one thing that is very, essential for our residents,” Younger stated.

To get no-kill standing per tips of the Greatest Buddies Animal Society, a facility should have a 90% live-release charge, Younger stated. The Davis County shelter achieved the standing in 2022 and at the moment has a live-release charge of round 94%.