Animal fees put Arlington and Everett at odds

Published 10:12 pm Monday, April 26, 2010

ARLINGTON — City officials want to avoid paying increased fees to the Everett Animal Shelter, especially for animals surrendered by their owners. Now Arlington is looking to take its business elsewhere.

The city of Arlington since 2006 has contracted with the city of Everett to house and care for all stray animals picked up in Arlington. The way Arlington officials read the contract, a stray is a cat or dog that is lost or wandering.

In 2009, Arlington paid Everett $22,137 to take in 162 animals, and more than half were turned in at the shelter by their owners. The city was charged about $12,000 for those 87 dogs and cats, which Arlington officials don’t consider strays, city spokeswoman Kristin Banfield said.

In addition, the per-animal rates charged to Arlington and other municipalities have risen dramatically, Banfield said.

Everett Animal Shelter’s charge in 2008 was $97 for each animal. That rate increased to $145 in 2009 and then to $164 in January this year. Arlington officials estimate that if the city continues its contract with Everett, Arlington stands to spend close to $35,000 for animal shelter service this year.

“Cities are strapped right now, and every penny counts,” Banfield said. “We are looking for alternatives.” The Humane Society of Skagit Valley in Burlington is likely the organization the city will turn to, she said.

The Everett Animal Shelter has been charging surrounding cities for animals brought to the shelter by their owners for many years, Everett city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.

“If cities want to go back and bill the former pet owners who surrendered their animals, we can provide those addresses, and they can try and recover that money,” Reardon said.

The animal shelter does not charge people for surrendering their animals because a fee could potentially chase people away, especially during an economic time when people are giving up their dogs simply because they can’t afford their care, Reardon said.

“We don’t want people to dump their animals,” she said. “We have concerns for the safety and well-being of those animals.”

The rising costs at the shelter simply reflect the cost of doing business and also are a result of having to pay for Everett’s new shelter facility, Reardon said.

Arlington Police Chief Robert Sullenberger told Arlington City Council members recently that Everett has insufficient controls on its animal shelter rate increases.

“They certainly aren’t based on the consumer price index,” Banfield said.

Rising rates at the Everett shelter led Monroe officials in June 2009 to change the way Monroe deals with strays.

Now, Monroe sends only aggressive animals to Everett. The rest are kept at Myownly Boarding Kennel in Monroe for three days, where owners can claim them. If no one steps forward, the animal is sent to Homeward Pet, a no-kill shelter in Woodinville.

The new system costs the city no more than $90 per dog — a savings of at least $74 per animal, compared to Everett’s $164 fee.

The process has saved Monroe $11,000 on shelter bills. Working with a local kennel also lowers travel expenses.

“We tried to think outside the box,” Monroe police spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.

The city of Snohomish also began using Myownly Boarding Kennel last year to handle nonviolent strays. Like Monroe, the city was concerned with rising rates.

Snohomish officials now are discussing the contract itself with the Everett shelter, since they, too, feel surrendered animals are not addressed by the agreement.

“In the meantime, we’re withholding payment for the surrendered animals,” city manager Larry Bauman said.

Other municipalities with animal shelter contracts with the city of Everett include the Tulalip Tribes, Snohomish County and the cities of Stanwood, Marysville, Lake Stevens and Gold Bar.

The Arlington City Council could vote as early as May 3 to end its animal shelter contract with Everett.

“In the meantime, we ask people to please get their pets spayed or neutered,” Banfield said.

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.