Cotati City Council
Agenda Staff Report
Item type: REGULAR AGENDA (ACTION)
To: City Council
Subject: Resolution to Approve an MOU for Shared Animal Licensing Services using DocuPet
Date: November 14, 2023
Written by: Angela Courter, Director of Administrative Services Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Rohnert Park to coordinate animal licensing services through a hosted platform
Background
The City requires registration and licensing of dogs within the City limits. This is to ensure proper vaccination of dogs and helps reunite lost dogs with their families. City staff have been looking to improve dog registration compliance within the City as well as increasing the efficiency of the program management. Currently, the City facilitates the management of the registration through an online portal that collects data and payment. This data, generated by residents, is then manually transferred to a separate database that is shared between the police dispatch and administrative services department. Customers additionally must bring in proof of dog vaccination records if it is not updated. City staff also procure the dog license tags annually.
The City has an existing MOU with the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter, who takes any lost and unclaimed dogs that the City collects. The City pays the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter to house unclaimed dogs found in Cotati, with a budget of $25,600 for fiscal year 2023/24.
While researching best practices across Sonoma County, City staff reached out to the Rohnert Park Animal Shelter, who was in the process of implementing a move to DocuPet. After significant exploratory discussions, staff believes that combining our resources will better serve our communities and our pets.
By providing our citizens access to register their dogs through Docupet, it means (1) there are no changes recommended related to costs of dog tags for residents, including free or reduced fee licenses, (2) their online portal provides improved licensing management and greater compliance with Animal Control as required by by-law, (3) improve safety departments ease of access to animal information with joint data access in both cities to identify and reunite missing animals.
Analysis/Discussion
DocuPet is an industry leader that has a reputable track record of increasing awareness of licensing requirements that in turn has been shown to greatly improve compliance. The City of Rohnert Park has engaged and will contract directly with DocuPet and if approved by the City Council, the City of Cotati will join the efforts in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
DocuPet will allow residents to obtain new licenses or perform renewals for the animal licenses online without the intervention with City Staff. For those not comfortable with online options, a direct mail option will still be available for completion at either City location. This will also be expanded to many other locations, such as veterinarian offices, the animal shelter and pet food stores.
DocuPet has privacy policies and safeguards in place for the maintenance of records and personal information submitted through regular licensing processes. This is also true for their payment systems, which have been entrusted by hundreds of municipalities across North America including Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa.
DocuPet creates an online portal for residents that will be available from the City website. The provision of animal licensing through DocuPet will significantly reduce staff time administering the current pet licensing program.
The City of Cotati will have access to the database as outlined in the MOU and will continue our programs such as sending flower seeds to citizens when their licensed dog passes. This access also allows emergency dispatch operators at both cities to obtain positive identification of lost dogs regardless of our jurisdictional lines.
Recently, Cotati has had a positive working relationship with Rohnert Park, including on major joint efforts, such as the S.A.F.E. team. Staff feel that this will only continue as we move towards serving our animals as well.
Financial Considerations
The cost to the City of Cotati is proposed at $1.50 per license and there are currently about 600 licenses for a total cost of $900 for the licensing services. Additionally, the City of Rohnert Park performs initial outreach to new dog owners, according to records provided by the County. The cost of this service was proposed at $2.50 per mailing and not to exceed $500 per year. The total cost of the program transition per year is expected to be less than $1,500 and the staff time savings and merchant processing fees are expected to be reduced by more than this incremental increase. No Budget Amendment is requested at this time.
Environmental Issues
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project 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, pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378.