KCACC Exposed - Our Thoughts

Our Thoughts

Hope, Uncertainty Surround KCACC Closure Plan

BY: Co-chairs, KCACC Exposed 12/8/2009

It is easy to get confused when confronted with all of the political pronouncements, press reports and fear-mongering of the past several weeks.

Is King County Animal Care and Control (KCACC) going to close? If so, when? What will happen to the 10, 000-12,000 animals per year that enter KCACC shelters? Who will provide animal control services, and investigate charges of animal cruelty and neglect?

The answers to some of these questions are not yet known, and we all will have to remain patient over the next several weeks as the details of KCACC’s closure are worked out. But there are a few things we know.

First, the end of KCACC is near. The King County Council has unanimously approved a motion directing the King County Executive to phase out the sheltering of animals at KCACC shelters by January 31, 2010. The motion also called for KCACC to stop providing animal control services by June 30, 2010, except in unincorporated areas of the county. Should the 32 cities wish to continue to contract for animal control with KCACC after that date, the council has indicated that they would need to support the full cost of these services.

We do not know if the January 31, 2010 deadline will be met – given the complexity of ongoing negotiations, we doubt it, and expect that there will be some sort of extension. However, we believe that the King County Council’s commitment is firm, and that newly elected King County Executive Dow Constantine is determined to put an end to the deplorable conditions under which animals at KCACC have suffered for years.

Executive Constantine emphasized his commitment when voting for the measure to close the KCACC shelters, during one of his last weeks as a councilmember:

“This day has been a long time coming,” said Mr. Constantine. “As I said years ago when we started on this journey, we have an absolute obligation to the animals to provide them with humane care. . .and the best opportunity for finding homes.”

Second, King County will not be left without a shelter to take strays and owner-surrendered animals. Executive Constantine and his staff have reassured humane groups, city representatives, and concerned citizens that the KCACC shelters will not close until the county has developed a plan to replace these shelters with a responsible, humane alternative. We understand that negotiations with cities and area humane organizations, including the Seattle Humane Society and the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, are ongoing.

Nevertheless, driven by members of the KCACC Officers’ Guild, a group trying to “Save KCACC,” has been conducting a campaign based on fear and misinformation. This campaign claims that if KCACC were to close, there would be nowhere for 12,000 animals a year to go, and the alternative will be “Euthanasia for all of those animals!” Understandably, many well-intentioned but misguided people, full of genuine concern for the animals of King County, have joined this campaign and signed petitions to try to prevent this grim outcome.

But this campaign is not really about protecting the animals. It is about protecting the jobs of the roughly 40 people who belong to the KCACC Officers’ Guild, no matter what the cost to the taxpayers, or the terrible price paid by the animals who suffer in KCACC’s shelters.

Neither the council nor Executive Elect Constantine will shut down KCACC if there is nowhere else for the animals to go. However, they have known for years that the services provided by KCACC can be provided better, and more efficiently, by private non-profit organizations in the community such as the Seattle Humane Society and PAWS. Both of these organizations have stepped up to offer to shelter animals from King County when KCACC closes – Seattle Humane has offered to take over for the entire county if necessary, while PAWS has offered to shelter animals from five northern communities.

In response to the news that the council had directed KCACC shelters to close by January 31, Seattle Humane CEO Brenda Barnette said that she looked forward to continuing negotiations with the King County executive, which she hoped would also include representatives from the council, the cities, and other area rescue groups.

Ms. Barnette released an email statement recently expressing concern over the looming January 31, 2010 deadline. However, she emphasized that the Seattle Humane Society still stands ready to take over sheltering in King County.

"As the largest shelter in the King County metropolitan area, Seattle Humane Society is uniquely qualified to meet this challenge and we have provided a solution,” Ms. Barnette wrote in the email. “What remains on the table is a means for funding, facilities and equipment to do the job."

This statement is consistent with a statement released by Ms. Barnette last month, in which she reiterated Seattle Humane’s willingness to take over county animal sheltering, as well as her insistence on a solution that will result in a model animal care program for King County.

“The Seattle Humane Society’s goal is for the agreement to serve the animals in our community, to make good sense financially, and to support the legislative direction of the King County Council,” she said in the earlier statement. “The outcome must be a system that can deliver the very best care to the animals in our county. They deserve nothing less.”

Third, the move to close down KCACC is about much more than money. There is little doubt that finances were the driving factor behind Interim Executive Kurt Triplett’s September announcement that KCACC was to close. However, the move is also being backed by a number of council members who have shown a consistent dedication over the past two years to improving the welfare of King County’s animals. These council members know that, especially given today’s economic climate, there is no way for King County to invest enough money into the current broken system at KCACC to achieve a model program. Last year, a strategic planning committee estimated that the county would need to invest approximately $8.6 million a year in KCACC in order to achieve council’s goals of a model program – as opposed to the current budget of approximately $5.7 million, roughly $4.5 million of which is paid for by the 32 contracting cities.

By contrast, it is clear that private non-profits such as the Seattle Humane Society can provide better care for less money, because of their superior ability to harness community resources, their broad use of community volunteers, and the fact that they are not hampered by the high cost that comes with trying to do anything within the county government.

The result is that the county’s politicians, the county’s taxpayers, and the county’s animals are facing a potential win-win-win situation. The politicians can take a step that is fiscally responsible and which will allow precious taxpayer funds to be spent on vital human services which are currently facing the chopping block. But at the same time, this restructuring will result in better care for the animals, from organizations that are solely dedicated to animal welfare.

Councilmember Julia Patterson, who sponsored the first legislation to make King County shelters No Kill in spring 2007, said that she was supporting the legislation to end KCACC because it is clear that KCACC is not doing a good job, and cannot achieve the goal of running a model animal sheltering program, under which every animal would find a home unless it was too sick or dangerous to be adopted.

“For three years we’ve heard from consultants, audits, and work groups, unanimously advising us that we have serious problems in our animal sheltering program,” said Councilmember Patterson in voting for the legislation. “It’s time to make a decision – get out of the animal sheltering business and turn to community organizations to provide more humane, efficient care.”

Fourth, animal control services for King County will not be halted. There are certain animal control services, such as picking up free-roaming aggressive dogs, that the cities are legally obligated to continue to perform. Although King County has announced that it will no longer subsidize these services for the cities, it has offered to either continue to provide these services at cost through KCACC, or to assist the cities in transitioning to their own animal control services. This shift will give the cities, and the county, freedom to re-evaluate animal control policies – especially as they relate to free-roaming cats – and to make increased efforts to return stray animals to their homes in the field, rather than taking them all to a shelter. Nevertheless, it is certain that basic animal control services will continue to be provided, and likely that the cities will control free-roaming aggressive dogs much more effectively than KCACC, whose lax animal control policies have continuously left county citizens in danger.

Fifth, although progress has been made, and there is great reason to hope, it is vital that we continue to be vigilant. We are greatly encouraged by the recent actions of the King County Council, the stated intentions of new Executive Dow Constantine, and the generous offers that have been made by the Seattle Humane Society. But we have been in this fight for too long not to be wary about the things that could still go wrong. Much remains to be done, and many complicated questions must still be answered.

Before KCACC can close, many more steps still need to be taken, and complex negotiations will need to be concluded. King County and the 32 cities that contract with King County for animal sheltering will need to sign contracts with another entity or entities to provide animal sheltering. A location for this sheltering must also be found. At the moment, it looks as if Seattle Humane Society is likely to step in to provide sheltering for most of these cities, although PAWS has indicated its interest in negotiating contracts with at least five of the cities. But all the parties still need to come to the table to negotiate and work out an animal care plan for the region.

The cities and the county will also need to make arrangements to provide animal control services for their citizens. At this point, it looks as if they may have a choice between paying KCACC full costs to continue its services (inadequate as they are), or cooperating with one another to hire their own animal control officers and pool them across the region. For example, the city of Renton currently has its own animal control department, and takes the animals it picks up to the Seattle Humane Society. We would expect that a plan for animal sheltering will be concluded first, and that work will continue over the next few months on an animal control approach for the region.

It is also still up in the air who will investigate charges of animal cruelty and neglect after KCACC shuts down. It is likely that this work will be transferred to the King County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments, but the funding stream for these new duties has not yet been publicly discussed. This is a situation that animal advocates across the county will need to watch closely, to make sure that the animal victims of cruelty will not be left without justice.

Finally, our job does not end even if, and when, all the contracts have been signed, and all of KCACC’s current responsibilities have been reallocated. We hope to be able to announce the end of KCACC Exposed within the next several months, because the mission of reforming or replacing KCACC will have been accomplished. But as community animal advocates, our work will continue. We will watch closely the progress made by the Seattle Humane Society and other local organizations in achieving a No Kill King County; continue to monitor the enforcement of animal neglect and cruelty laws; and be ready to raise the alarm once more if the animals in King County are neglected and killed by those who are supposed to protect and shelter them.

Happy Holidays to all of our members and supporters, and please join us in our hope that there will be good news for the animals by the New Year.