AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: April 18, 2023
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: David Yelton, Assistant Director, City Building Official Nestor Otazu, Community Preservation Manager
Evelin Welch, Senior Management Analyst
Subject: AUTHORIZATION FOR A ONE-TIME APPROPRIATION REQUEST OF $356,355 FROM THE GENERAL FUND FOR ANIMAL CARE AND
CONTROL SERVICES COSTS PROVIDED DURING FISCAL YEAR
2022-23; AND
APPROVAL OF A CHANGE PURCHASE ORDER TO THE CITY OF
LOS ANGELES ANIMAL SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $356,355
FOR A TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED $630,358.05 FOR FISCAL YEAR
2022-23
Attachments: None
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that City Council authorize a one-time appropriation in the not-toexceed amount of $356,355 from the General Fund to fund the annual Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the City of Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS) for animal care and control services for fiscal year (or “FY”) 2022-23; and approval of a change purchase order in the amount of $356,355 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $630,358.05 for fiscal year 2022-23.
INTRODUCTION
The City of Beverly Hills has contracted through MOAs with LAAS since 2008 to provide animal care and control services including the taking in of stray animals, adoption of animals, licensing and enforcement of animal related regulations. At the May 10, 2022 meeting, the City Council approved a new MOA for services starting January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2026, on a full cost recovery model, which has resulted in significant increases to costs for animal control officer time, animal intake fees and daily sheltering costs, including medical and maintenance costs for animals housed. The service E-14
Meeting Date: April 18, 2023
provider is a “no kill provider,” meaning that animals received into the shelter tend to stay within the shelter for longer periods of time, thereby increasing daily maintenance costs.
Additionally, due to increased adoptions and higher canine and animal related activity citywide, in part due to the pandemic has resulted in more frequent calls for services.
The increase in service demand and associated costs due to the new full cost recovery MOA requires additional funding to pay for the animal care and control services provided to the City of Beverly Hills.
DISCUSSION
The City of Beverly Hills has contracted with the LAAS since 2008; the current MOA expires on December 31, 2026. The LAAS continues to provide timely, effective and professional animal care and control services to the residents of the City of Beverly Hills. The LAAS Shelter is conveniently located at 11361 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles; which is approximately 4 ½ miles away from the City of Beverly Hills. The City of Los Angeles shelter is a state-of-the-art animal care facility with modern conveniences and pet friendly environment.
Services Provided by the LAAS.
1. Intake and animal care for stray animals and owner relinquishments.
2. Adoption services and other public services such as vaccination clinics.
3. Response to calls for service from the City of Beverly Hills for animals at-large, injured, potentially dangerous, or potential victims of cruelty or inhumane treatment as defined by law.
4. Issue various licenses, administer licensing information, administer a voluntary cat registration program, administer spay/neuter exemption, register and collect fees for same.
5. Issue permits for animal-related businesses and events and collect fees for same.
6. Issue Notices to Comply, Citations, Fees, Fines, and/or penalties for violation of laws and regulations.
7. Prepare documents necessary to assist in investigations and prosecution of cases involving animals.
8. Conduct potentially dangerous animal administration procedures when required, including conducting administrative hearings for Beverly Hills residents held within 30 days of incident
9. Intake and care of animals impounded as evidence.
10. Assist in animal evacuation or other emergency service requirements, as resources are available.
11. Provide public education information on animals, wildlife, pet ownership, and related topics in the form of webinars.
In addition, the City of Beverly Hills Municipal Code Title 5, Article 3 adopts by reference the LAAS animal control ordinance. Beverly Hills retains exclusive control over public outreach relating to enforcement of barking dog and excessive animal related noise complaints.
The LAAS operates on a calendar year basis (January – December) and not on a fiscal year basis as the City of Beverly Hills (July – June). The estimated annual cost associated with the current MOA are $456,000 based on an average monthly costs of $38,000. The MOA rates is also adjusted each year as fees for LAAS are also increased annually by the CPI. Currently the Community Development Department has a City Council approved annual ongoing budget of $184,166.05 to pay for the animal care and control services provided.
Meeting Date: April 18, 2023
At the time the current MOA was approved by the City Council (May 2022), services were being provided on a month-to-month basis; once the MOA was fully executed staff could pay for the services provided. However, invoices were not received until December 2022 for a eleven months’ worth of services which included invoices for the second half of fiscal year 2021-22 (January – June) in the amount of $176,762.80.
Although the Department had a one-time budget of $89,837; it was insufficient to cover the full cost of the services for that period. Based on receipt of the invoices for the first five months of fiscal year 2022-23, Staff has estimated the ongoing monthly rate of $38,0001; totaling $266,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year. The table below provides a breakdown of the one-time appropriation request:
Invoices Cost Available Budget Additional
Appropriation
Needed to Pay
Invoices:
FY 21-22
(January – June) $176,763 $89,837 $86,926
FY 22-23
(July – November) $187,595 $184,166 $3,429
FY 22-23
(December – June) $266,0001 $0.00 $266,000.00
Total 356,355.00
Currently invoices December through March are pending to be received. Staff has also requested that monthly invoices for services be provided immediately following the close of each month. This would assist with timely processing of invoices for services rendered and will help in keeping payments within the corresponding fiscal year. Each invoice and respective daily logs received from LAAS undergoes extensive review to ensure that services being provided pertain to that of Beverly Hills and are accurate relating to call volume and staff time.
In order to better understand the increase in cost of services provided by LAAS, staff analyzed the invoices from 2021 to 2022. While the officer hours remain relatively steady over time, it appears that two factors are contributing to higher monthly bills.
First, the monthly administrative overhead cost has increased from $5,692 to $12,893.
Second, it appears the number of animals being housed at the shelter for longer periods of time is generally increasing (and fluctuates from month to month). This factor has the biggest impact on the monthly cost of services provided. For example, during a month when there were no animals sheltered for more than a week, and 9 animals sheltered overnight, the monthly cost for services was approximately $17,000.
However, in July 2022, the cost for services was approximately $49,000, because 21 animals were sheltered for longer than one week during that month. Based on the field and shelter activity logs for 2021 and 2022, Staff has noticed an estimated 19% increase of animals surrendered back to the shelter for intake. Anecdotally, staff has heard that more animals are being surrendered to shelters due to the winding down of the pandemic and people returning to work who are no longer able to look after their pets.
Based on the MOA’s “full cost recovery model”; the increased demand for animal care and control services by Beverly Hills residents; daily sheltering costs; LAAS “no kill policy” causing animals taken in to the shelter tend to stay within the shelter for longer periods of time, thereby increasing daily maintenance costs; has caused the City to realize higher costs than in previous years. The one-time appropriation requests of Meeting Date: April 18, 2023
$356,355 is needed to complete payment of outstanding invoices and anticipated services through June 30, 2023. So as to continue to provide the services seamlessly to our residents without interruption, staff is requesting that the City Council authorize this appropriation request and purchase change order for fiscal year 2022-23. Staff will work diligently to issue the change purchase order and process invoices as soon as they are received.
In anticipation of the increased demand and costs for animal care and control services for the remaining years of the MOA, staff will be requesting an ongoing budget expenditure of $295,834 starting with fiscal year 2023-24 to continue to fund the MOA.
This budget enhancement will be coming forward to the City Council for approval through the budget process for the upcoming fiscal year. Based on the estimated monthly service rates of $38,000; staff is estimating the annual cost to pay for the animal care and control services provided under the MOA is $456,000.
FISCAL IMPACT
Based on the estimated monthly service rates of the MOA ($38,000), the fiscal impact to the City of Beverly Hills will be one-time service costs of $356,355 for fiscal year 2022- 23 requiring a current year appropriation. The appropriation request for future fiscal years starting with FY2023-24 will be requested through the budget process.
Jeff S. Muir,
Director of Finance
Timothea Tway, AICP,
Director of Community Development
Approved By Approved By