For City Council Meeting April 09, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: David N. Carmany, City Manager
AUTHOR: Mark P. Kling, Chief of Police
Title
Consideration of a 3-Year Contract Agreement with the City of San Bernardino for Animal Services in the Amount of $547,867 for Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Through Fiscal Year 2027/2028 for a total cost of $ 1,643,601.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Approve the contract with the City of San Bernardino to provide animal shelter services through June 30, 2027.
2) Approve annual purchase orders for the period fiscal year 2024/2025 through 2027/2028 in the amount of $547,867.00 each year.
3) Authorize the City Manager to increase annual purchase orders for shelter services as needed based on the services and other sheltering related costs provided to the city.
Body
BACKGROUND
The Rialto Police Department has contracted with the County of Riverside Department of Animal Services for animal shelter services since July of 2018. The current agreement provides animal care services related to sheltering, processing, animal licensing, spay and neuter and vaccination clinics. The agreement will expire on June 30, 2024.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
California cities and counties are required by State law to furnish animal control and sheltering services to guarantee the welfare of both the community and animals. This encompasses the provision of adequate care and sheltering facilities for abandoned or mistreated domestic animals, the licensing of domestic animals, and the humane disposal of animals when deemed necessary. Adherence to these regulations is achieved through various means adopted by local jurisdictions. Some agencies opt to operate and manage their own animal shelters and control services independently, while others choose to collaborate with external entities to streamline costs and optimize efficiency. Presently, the Rialto Police Department fulfills the role of providing animal services; however, it does not administer its own shelter facility, relying on external partners or arrangements to meet this aspect of the mandate.
In August of 2023, the County of Riverside Department of Animal Services disseminated a letter to discontinue services with the agencies within the County of San Bernardino. The County of Riverside Department of Animal Services agreed to honor the existing contract to provide services through the end of the current contract, which expires on June 30, 2024. Staff contacted the County of Riverside staff for clarification and hopes to extend the contract past the expiration. The County of Riverside stressed concerns with the over population of the shelter, opting to provide better service to the citizens of Riverside County.
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO PROPOSAL
In response, staff began looking at several different options for shelter services. The County of San Bernardino, Department of Animal Services was contacted and does not currently provide an option for contract animal sheltering services to other cities.
The cities of Colton and Rialto were contacted to meet with the County of San Bernardino for the possibility of entering into a joint venture for animal sheltering services. The initial proposal from San Bernardino County was to provide staffing and kenneling if the cities of Rialto and Colton provided the location, maintenance, tenant improvements and sheltering. Staff assessed several locations within the City of Rialto for a viable option for a temporary shelter.
Representatives from the County of San Bernardino and the City of Colton met with staff after the visit to discuss the shared financial responsibility of each partner agency. The proposal from the County of San Bernardino includes animal sheltering, facility operation, maintenance costs and on-site veterinary care for all animals brought into the facility, excluding emergency veterinary care. The city will need to maintain the current disposal service for processing deceased animals. The County of San Bernardino provided staff with a breakdown of the costs associated with this joint venture, with a first year contract cost of $1,975,842 and the remaining two-year cost of $1,498,398, annually for the City of Rialto, for a total estimated cost of $4,972,638.
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO PROPOSAL
During conversations with the County of San Bernardino, the city of San Bernardino contacted five cities, offering animal sheltering services. The agencies contacted were the cities of Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace and Loma Linda. Initial conversations with the City of San Bernardino warranted a more in depth look at two options provided to staff.
The proposal submitted by the City of San Bernardino can commence on July 1, 2024, and would expire on June 30, 2027, with the option of an additional two one-year extensions. The proposed annual amount of the service contract is $547,867, which includes animal sheltering, facility operation, construction of kennels for Rialto animals, maintenance costs and on-site veterinary care for all animals brought into the facility, excluding emergency veterinary care. This on-site veterinary service will benefit the impounded animals, as they will receive timely medical assistance and reduce the amount of time our animal control officers are out of service transporting injured animals. Currently, the city of San Bernardino does not charge cities fees when deceased animals are brought into their facility. Additional costs which may be billed under the contract at actual cost would include livestock, emergency veterinary visits, animal cruelty cases where specialized treatment is necessary, large deceased animal disposal requests, spay/neuter clinics, vaccination clinics and additional supplies as needed.
PROPOSAL COMPARISONS
After comparing both options, the representatives from the City of Colton advised staff they will be entering into a contract with the City of San Bernardino for animal shelter services as County costs are too high. With the city of Colton entering into a cost-share agreement with the city of San Bernardino, the city of Rialto would be left with the full encumbrance if staff decided to agree to the County option. Each proposal in the table below is based on the amount that will be shared between partner agencies.
See table below for the comparison of each proposal:
The city of San Bernardino recently entered into a 3 year contract agreement with the city of Fontana, Colton, Grand Terrace and Loma Linda. These contracts are set to begin on July 1, 2024.
Staff met and compared the proposals provided by both the County of San Bernardino and the city of San Bernardino. In order to maintain the current process with minimal operational changes, staff recommends entering into a service agreement with the city of San Bernardino, for the purpose of impounding and kenneling of stray animals, quarantine of animals when applicable, veterinarian services to kenneled animals, City Animal Licensing and other services as noted in the contract.
The city of San Bernardino will bill the city of Rialto for actual staffing costs based on costs sharing of all agencies involved equaling a 14 percent coast-share to each agency and other shelter related expenses on a quarterly basis. The city of San Bernardino will send itemized billing to the city of Rialto at the beginning of each quarter for services rendered in the preceding three-month period.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The proposed action does not meet the definition of a project as defined by Section 15378 California Environmental Act (CEQA). A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and excludes the following:
1) Continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases for supplies, personnel- related actions, general policy and procedure making.
2) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The city of Rialto has outlined key goals and objectives relating to public safety. The contract services with the city of San Bernardino for animal services, is consistent with meeting these objectives.
Goal 5-8: Provide effective and comprehensive policing services that meet the safety needs of Rialto.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney's Office has reviewed the agreement and approved it as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
Funding in the amount of $547,867.00 will be proposed in Fiscal Years 2024/2025 through 2027/2028 budget in Animal Control Contract Services Account No. 10106283 52011 for the contract agreement with city of San Bernardino for animal shelter services through June 30, 2027.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no capital improvement budget impact.
Licensing
A business license is not needed with the acceptance of this staff report.