DATE: June 1, 2026
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
Marlene Subhashini, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Kevin Ortiz, Management Analyst
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
SUBJECT: FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY
OF SAN MATEO FOR CONTINUED PROVISION OF ANIMAL
CONTROL SERVICES FOR A THREE-YEAR TERM BEGINNING
JULY 1, 2026 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2029
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with the County of San Mateo (the “County”) for animal control services for a term of three years to begin July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Animal control has been one of the longest running regional/shared services in San Mateo County. Since 1952, the County has contracted with the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (“PHS”) for animal control field and sheltering services. All twenty (20) cities in the County have in turn contracted with the County for these services.
Historically, cities have taken advantage of the economies of pooling resources in order to realize lower costs for services than each city could likely achieve by providing its own services.
PHS provides animal control services in a County-owned 45,000 square foot building located at 12 Airport Boulevard in San Mateo. The mandated animal control service functions, which occur at the Airport Boulevard facility, include: receiving and housing
stray animals; serving as the location for the public when looking for lost pets or surrendering animals; sheltering animals; spay/neuter clinic; and, vaccination clinic. For public convenience, licensing, micro-chipping, veterinary care and animal behavior work, and field services staff are at this location and respond to calls for service in the community.
To ensure continued provision of animal control services, it is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with the County.
BACKGROUND
On January 5, 2021, the County released a request for proposals to 71 organizations for an Animal Care, Control and Shelter Services Contractor serving San Mateo County.
Two contractors submitted proposals on February 18, 2021 (Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA and Partners in Animal Care & Compassion/Pets in Need).
On March 4, 2021, a review committee composed of nine reviewers including a Deputy County Manager, a San Mateo County Fiscal Officer, five reviewers from various San Mateo County cities, and subject matter experts from Los Angeles and San Bernardino evaluated the proposals. The evaluation determined that both proposals were acceptable; however, Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS) scored higher overall.
Contract negotiations with PHS started on March 24, 2021 and negotiations were amicably concluded on April 3, 2021 with the following agreements:
Funding Term: Five-Year Budget (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2026) Total Amount: $32,548,989.91
Entity Name: Peninsula Humane Society
Year 1 Budget Year 2 Budget Year 3 Budget Year 4 Budget Year 5 Budget Grand Budget Category Total Total Total Total Total Total
Personnel $3,432,241.20 $3,529,662.03 $3,635,551.89 $3,744,618.44 $3,856,957.00 $18,199,030.55 Fringe $1,120,626.75 $1,152,434.65 $1,187,007.69 $1,222,617.92 $1,259,296.46 $5,941,983.48 Operating Expenses $1,139,500.00 $1,162,290.00 $1,185,535.80 $1,209,246.52 $1,233,431.45 $5,930,003.76 Equipment $78,200.00 $79,764.00 $81,359.28 $82,986.47 $90,058.36 $412,368.10 Subcontracts $387,080.00 $373,221.60 $379,486.03 $385,875.75 $392,393.27 $1,918,056.65 Other Costs $31,643.00 $30,108.00 $30,514.98 $28,678.90 $26,602.48 $147,547.36 Total Expenditures $6,189,290.95 $6,327,480.28 $6,499,455.67 $6,674,024.00 $6,858,739.01 $32,548,989.91
ANALYSIS
Contractual animal control services provided by PHS will conclude on June 30, 2026; however, there is a clause in the current agreement that reads as follows:
“1. Term
Except as otherwise provided herein, and subject to compliance with all terms and conditions, the term of this Agreement shall be from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026. The parties may extend the term for an additional three years if the parties mutually agree in writing. This Agreement becomes effective only after all jurisdictions identified on Exhibit D as Participating Cities adopt it by entering into the agreement for
animal control services between the County and participating cities. If such County/Services Agreement is not adopted by all jurisdictions shown on Exhibit D, this Services Agreement is null and void in its entirety unless Contractor and any of the jurisdictions shown on Exhibit D agree to use it as the basis for a Services Agreement applicable to those parties providing such written consent, with such changes in payment, scope of service, and other terms as the parties may agree.”
The County has met with the President of PHS and both parties agree to extend the Animal Care and Control Services Agreement for another three years until June 30, 2029.
The San Mateo County City Managers Association (SMCCMA) has also established a standing committee to do an in-depth review of the contract, performance audits, cost sharing formulas, and strategic direction for provision of countywide animal control services. The SMCCMA committee was directly involved with the County during contract negotiations and had a seat at the table with PHS and the County working out the details of the final outcome.
The contract has performed effectively, providing the cities with reliable animal control services and significantly reducing the number of complaints compared to previous years.
Provisions of the Proposed Amendment:
Only a few modifications have been made to the agreement, which are outlined below:
4.1.a The County will pay Animal Control Contractor the following agreed-to amounts.
These costs are to be reimbursed by the Cities as provided in Section 3.7 of the current agreement (Attachment 3).
Fiscal Year Amount
2021-22 $6,189,290.95
2022-23 $6,327,480.28
2023-24 $6,499,455.67
2024-25 $6,674,024.00
2025-26 $6,858,739.01
2026-27 $7,037,138.11
2027-28 $7,220,177.44
2028-29 $7,407,977.72
This is less than a 3% increase a year for the contracted animal control services and this cost will be passed onto the City.
Section 4 County Responsibilities under 4.1 of the agreement are amended to read as follows:
4.1.b The County will pay Animal Licensing Contractor the following agreed-to amounts.
These costs are to be reimbursed by the Cities as provided in Section 3.7 (the table in
4.2 includes the payment for the contract PetData for approximately $1,096,827 for five years, which is $219,365 yearly and which will end on June 30, 2027).
Current Contract
2022-2027
Amount
One year license $4.28 per license
Multi-year license $4.28 for the first year and $2 for each additional year
Late fees collected $2.50 collection service fee for each license Replacement tags $4.28 per tag
Bank and supply fees Actual cost
Section 4 County Responsibilities under 4.2 of the agreement is amended to read as follows:
4.2 The County shall provide the administrative services as outlined in this Agreement for the following estimated amounts to be charged to and paid by the Cities. Costs may vary as labor negotiations and internal service charges are negotiated at a Countywide level. Cities will only be invoiced for the actual costs to provide said services as outlined in this Agreement and are to be reimbursed by the Cities as provided in Section 3.7.
Fiscal Year Amount
2021-22 $790,835
2022-23 $790,375
2023-24 $814,086
2024-25 $822,227
2025-26 $846,894
2026-27 $872,301
2027-28 $898,470
2028-29 $925,424
Section 4 County Responsibilities under 4.3.j has been removed from the agreement.
This section was to arrange a performance audit or fiscal assessment of PHS, the animal control contractor. The County released an RFP in January to find a vendor to perform an audit of PHS and felt that it would not be fiscally responsible to turn around within three years and conduct another audit within three years and would wait until the new contract in 2027 and write it into the new contract. This is the reason for removal.
Section 5 General Provisions under 5.8 Term and Termination of the agreement is amended to read as follows:
5.8 Term and Termination. Subject to compliance with all terms and conditions, the term of this Agreement shall be from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2029. Changes in the agreement language are highlighted in Attachment 2.
California Environmental Quality Act
The approval of the First Amendment to the Agreement is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21000, et seq. and the CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code Regs. §§ 15000 et. seq.), including without limitation, Public Resources Code section 21065 and California Code of Regulations 15378 as this is not a “project” that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City of Foster City's share of the total contract in FY 2026-2027 is 2.86% (or $178,279), with the City’s percentage share (and the share for all cities) being revisited annually. This is budgeted in the City Manager’s Office Administrative Expenses – Contractual, Professional, and Specialized Services Budget (Account No. 001-0110- 413-42-51).
Cost Allocation to Cities and Unincorporated County:
The number of service calls and sheltering animals generated by each city is tracked, and the average of the last three years’ data is used to set the upcoming year’s costs for member cities and for the County. Each city’s (and unincorporated County) three-year average usage data is weighted 41% for field services and 59% for shelter services, with a credit for revenues.
As mentioned above, annual costs are divided up in two ways. The first is to divide costs using a three-year average of usage, weighted 41% on field services and 59% on shelter usage. This weighting was selected by the negotiating team as it is representative of how PHS’s costs are actually divided.
The second factor in dividing costs is how to factor in offsetting revenues from animal licensing and collected fees. The contract gives each city credit for the animal licensing
and collected fees revenue attributable to that particular city as a direct offset of its own share of costs. That change gives cities a mechanism to lower their costs by allowing them to do additional outreach to their residents to license and vaccinate their animals.
Note that City staff will continue to coordinate community outreach efforts related to animal licensing and vaccinations through multiple mediums/platforms used by the City, including, but not limited to: newsletter and social media.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Public Safety and Social Equity
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – Proposed First Amendment to the Agreement with the County of San Mateo
Attachment 3 – Agreement with the County of San Mateo (dated July 1, 2021) Attachment 4 – Estimated FY 2026-2027 Animal Control Costs