City of Sacramento
Personnel and Public Employees Committee Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-01847 1/7/2025 Discussion Item 3.
Animal Wellbeing Commission 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Workplan File ID: 2024-01847
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Review and provide direction on the 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Workplan for the Animal Wellbeing Commission and pass a Motion either:
1) directing staff to forward the Annual Report and Workplan to the City Council for review; 2) directing staff to update the Annual Report and Workplan based on Personnel and Public Employee Committee recommendations and forward to the City Council for review; or 3) asking the Animal Wellbeing Commission to update the Annual Report and Workplan based Personnel and Public Employee Committee recommendations and come back to the Personnel and Public Employee Committee for additional review.
Contact: Phillip Zimmerman, Animal Care Services Manager, 916-808-8881, [email protected], Community Development Department Presenter: Leah Morris, Animal Wellbeing Commission 2024 Chair Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Animal Wellbeing Commission 2024 Annual Report
3-Animal Wellbeing Commission 2025 Workplan
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: Advisory bodies of the City are required to provide an annual report and workplan for review by the Personnel and Public Employees (P&PE) Committee as outlined in the City Council Rules of Procedure, Chapter 17. The P&PE Committee shall review advisory body annual reports and give staff direction on those reports’ stated projects, priorities, and recommendations. Before forwarding the report to the City Council, the Committee may request supplemental information from staff or the advisory body.
The attached Annual Report and Workplan is being forwarded to the P&PE Committee for consideration.
File ID: 2024-01847 1/7/2025 Discussion Item 3.
Policy Considerations: Chapter 17 of the Council Rules of Procedure outlines the Advisory Body reporting process.
Economic Impacts: Not Applicable.
Environmental Considerations:
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): This action is not a project that is subject to CEQA because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines §15378(b)(5)).
Sustainability: Not Applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: On November 13, 2024 the Animal Wellbeing Commission passed a motion forwarding their Annual Report and Workplan to the P&PE Committee for consideration.
Rationale for Recommendation: So that advisory bodies may effectively incorporate their important role, voice, and work to provide thoughtful community recommendations to the City Council on a consistent basis the P&PE Committee shall facilitate the process for advisory bodies to communicate their accomplishments, projects, priorities, and recommendations to the City Council.
Financial Considerations: Not Applicable.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not Applicable.
915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 • [email protected] • (916) 808-7200 Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee
Annual Report
January 2024 through December 2024
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Table of Contents
Introduction: Establishment, Commissioners, and Staff ........................................................................... 3 Purpose, Powers and Duties of Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee .................... 4 Message from the Chair .................................................................................................................................. 4 Key Accomplishments ..................................................................................................................................... 5 A. Needs Assessment ........................................................................................................................... 5 B. Ordinance Update ............................................................................................................................ 5 C. New Brochure .................................................................................................................................. 6 D. Community Outreach…………………………………………………………………….6
E. Facility Tours by Elected officials…………………………………………………………7 Commission Resources Expended ............................................................................................................... 7 Workplan for Upcoming Year .................................................................................................................... 10 Appendices ......................................................................................................................................................... 9 A. Needs Assessment .......................................................................................................................... 9 B. Ordinance Purpose, Powers and Duties .................................................................................... 9 C. 2024 Brochure .................................................................................................................................. 9
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Introduction: Establishment, Committee Members and Staff
The Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee was established in 2001 by ordinance 2001-052.
The committee consists of seven members which are currently nominated by the Personnel and Public Employees Committee and appointed by the mayor with the concurrence of a majority of the city council. Four members have specific requirements related to experience in animal care and three members are from the community at large. In 2024, the Sacramento City Council undertook efforts to streamline all City Boards, Committees and Commissions. Efforts related to this committee are discussed below.
Current Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee
The following committee members are currently serving:
• Paul L. Hefner
• Joe Robustelli
• Denise Bell – Vice Chair
• Paula Treat
• Leah C. Morris - Chair
• Kathleen Garcia – past Chair
2023- 2024 Commissioners
The following committee member previously served:
• Cynthia Karsten, DVM – UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, Shelter Medicine Program
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Staff
The committee is supported primarily by the following staff member:
• Phillip Zimmerman, Animal Care Services Manager, Community Development
Front Street Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Staff Contact Information
City of Sacramento
Front Street Animal Shelter- City of Sacramento
[email protected]
(916) 808-8333
FrontStreetShelter.org
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Purpose, Powers and Duties of Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee
Purpose of the Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee
The committee is established for the purpose of providing advice and recommendations to the mayor and city council on strategies and policies designed to ensure and enhance animal care services provided by the city. (Ord. 2001-052 § 1)
Powers and Duties of the Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee
The powers and duties of the committee shall be as follows:
A. To provide advisory recommendations to the mayor and city council on strategies, policies and programs designed to assure quality care for the animals housed at the city’s animal care services center, increase awareness of animals available for adoption at the center, increase awareness of the importance of the spaying/
neutering of animals, assist in soliciting input from the community relating to use of unclaimed spay/neuter deposits, educate the community regarding the humane treatment of animals and other matters related to city’s animal care responsibilities; B. To provide a forum for public discussion of the city’s efforts to bring about positive change and improvements at the animal care services center; C. To serve as a liaison to the mayor, council and city staff on behalf of the community in matters related to the city’s animal care services. (Ord. 2001-052 § 1)
Note: updates to this ordinance, including revisions to the Purpose, Powers and Duties are currently underway and may be adopted and implemented in 2025
Message from the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee Chair Greetings to animal lovers in the City of Sacramento! 2023-2024 has been a busy time for this Committee.
• As detailed below, we devoted much effort to conducting a Needs Assessment of the current Front Street Animal Shelter campus. Initially opened as an animal control site in 1910, these grounds have been employed for animal services for over 100 years.
Today’s best practices in animal shelter care call for significantly more space and services and we look forward to working with the community to address the Needs Assessment recommendations.
• Secondly, we collaborated closely with the Sacramento Office of the City Clerk to update the 2001ordinance which created this committee. Much has changed at the shelter over the 20 years of this Committee, and we look forward to working with Council and staff to advance to an “Animal Wellbeing Commission”, consistent with other advisory bodies the City relies upon.
• We also worked closely with the community to inform and update them regarding services at the shelter, including creating and distributing an updated brochure, attending several community meetings and touring elected officials at the shelter to inform them of facility concerns.
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Key Accomplishments
This report addresses accomplishments since the prior report, dated September 2023.
A. Needs Assessment of the Front Street Animal Shelter
Completed a comprehensive long-term assessment of the facility needs at the Front Street Animal Care Center. The Committee developed a “Needs Assessment” Request For Proposal (RFP) which was funded by the City of Sacramento. Pursuant to the City RFP procurement rules, a competitive process was followed, and expert consultants were selected to conduct the Shelter Needs Assessment. Highlights of the Needs Assessment include:
a. Over a 12 week period, experts in the field of architecture and shelter veterinary care conducted a full analysis of the current Front Street Shelter:
i. A thorough assessment of the physical campus including current building size, campus acreage, open area workspaces (laundry & food preparation), administrative offices, medical clinic space and pathways for human and animal passage through the campus
ii. Assessing equipment condition, either in working order, need of repair or hazardous
iii. A review of current and potential animal care space needs based on standards of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians Guidelines for Care iv. Completed two “Charette” meetings of stakeholders (staff, volunteers, UCD Shelter Medicine program staff, representatives of Sacramento City Council) to identify issues and potential solutions
v. Identified “interim” repair measures to improve shelter operations vi. Identified a final recommendation related to possible renovation or relocation of the Animal Shelter for the City of Sacramento vii. Presented final findings to leadership of the Community Development Department, City of Sacramento, which is responsible for shelter operations
viii. Engaged with Friends of Front Street, the partner nonprofit of the City of Sacramento Front Street Animal Shelter, to support additional related work
B. Update the founding ordinance for this Committee
Collaborated with the Office of the City Clerk to revise the 2001 ordinance in accordance with the Clerk’s direction to standardize City Boards, Committees and Commissions by, among other things:
a. Changing nomenclature to a Commission
b. Revising the Purpose of the Commission
c. Updating the Powers and duties of the Commission
d. Increasing membership to 13, appointed by the Mayor and Council Members, adding a youth seat as well as two seats for i) an individual employed in a shelter and ii) an individual volunteering at a shelter
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
C. New shelter brochure
Created a new Front Street Animal Shelter brochure, to be distributed to community members and visitors to the shelter. The brochure offers up-to-date information about shelter hours, reuniting lost & found pets, adoption policies, how to support the shelter and other pertinent information. Efforts to translate the brochure into Spanish are underway with the Community Engagement team. Funds to print the brochure were generously provided by Friends of Front Street.
D. Community Outreach
Expanded public outreach through continued work with the Sacramento Community Engagement team. Identified and attended several Sacramento Neighborhood Association meetings and planned a “Community Conversation”, hosted by the Community Engagement team, for ongoing discussions regarding Sacramento animal care services.
In 2024, Committee members attended several neighborhood meetings and community advocacy events, including:
• District 1 - Southside Park Neighborhood Association
• District 2 - Robla Park Neighborhood Association
• District 2 - Hagginwood Neighborhood Association
• District 8 - Meadowview Neighborhood Association
• District 1 - Southside Park Neighborhood Association
• City of Sacramento Neighborhood Mixers for City residents, small businesses, and multiple City Departments
• A “Town Hall” hosted by Assembly Member Stephanie Nguyen • "2024 Animal Advocacy Day" at the California State Capitol • A “Mixer” hosted by the Sacramento Community Engagement team to allow the public to meet members of the Committee
E. Engaged elected officials
Engaged Sacramento City Council Member offices to host tours of the Front Street Animal Shelter. Visits are planned to allow Council Members and staff to observe first-hand the condition and concerns of the shelter campus.
a. District 1, Member Kaplan – scheduled October 2024
b. District 2, Member Thao - TBD
c. District 3, Member Talamantes - completed
d. District 4, Member Valenzuela - completed
e. District 5, Member Maples – completed
f. District 6, Member Guerra – completed
g. District 7, Member Jennings – completed
h. District 8, Member Vang – TBD
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
In addition, at the Committee’s invitation, California Assembly Member Nguyn (District 10, Sacramento and Elk Grove) also visited the shelter.
F. Collaborate with 311
Investigated options for enhancing animal welfare using the City’s 311 call center. Identified call center challenges which include high volume and complex animal care related service calls requiring longer call times and more specific skills to deal with community member concerns, providing detailed information about licensing, spay/neutering, wildlife management, etc. Engaged with animal welfare agencies outside the City to explore options for service improvements. Identified obstacles including: staffing and complexities with union rules, identifying funding for pilot project, technology requirements to implement new 311 agents dedicated to animal care service calls.
Resources Expended
The estimated cost to support the Animal Care Services Citizens Advisory Committee in 2024 was $77,935. This estimate does not include City staff time to support tours by elected officials or attend community meetings. It also does not account for Committee member time.
In 2024 we are scheduled to complete nine Committee meetings. Below is a breakdown of City expenditures to support the committee during this year.
The estimated cost per year for meetings is as follows:
Meetings Hours Rate Total
Staff report creation and review – department staff 9 4 $117 $4,212 Staff report review – city attorney staff 9 3 $216 $5,832 Agenda review, preparation, and publishing – city clerk 9 10 $35 $3,150 Meeting presentation preparation 9 2 $117 $2,106
Meeting attendance – department staff 9 2 $117 $2,106
Meeting attendance – city attorney staff 9 2 $216 $3,888 Meeting attendance – city clerk staff 9 2 $58 $1,044
Meeting attendance – IT staff 9 2 $53 $954
Meeting attendance – building security 9 2 $33 $594
Post meeting tasks: minutes, legislative document processing, attendance tracking
9 3 $35 $945
Commissioner stipend processing (quarterly) 12/year $42 $504 Commissioner stipends (6 committee members) 9 5 $50 $2,000 Total Meetings Cost $27,335
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Additional Estimated Expenditures:
2024
Needs Assessment Consultant contract $50,000
Staff Time to participate in Needs Assessment related activities Planning meetings: estimated at $30*/hour x 2 meetings x 4 staff $240 Charette meetings: estimated at $30/hour x 2 meetings x 6 staff $360 Total $600
In addition to the resources expended by City Staff, please understand that countless hours have been donated by the Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee members. Time has been devoted to drafting documents for agendas, the Needs Assessment document development, and drafting versions of this annual report. Between discussions with City staff, community members and other Committee members regarding shelter services and concerns, participation in the review work to select a consultant for the Needs Assessment, and multiple related emails and phone calls, this Committee has dedicated valuable time to supporting our work, the shelter’s work and the City’s interest in Front Street.
While we cannot place an hourly value on each Committee member’s time** – we would like it to be noted that Committee member time is a resource also.
*Estimated hourly wage across several employee categories. ** As an example, in 2013, the Chair was paid $125/hr as a consultant to the State of California.
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Animal Care Citizens Advisory Committee Annual Report 2024.rev
Workplan for Upcoming Year
A. Goal 1 – Needs Assessment recommendation – build a new shelter
• Identify potential site for new Sacramento Animal Shelter • Create a funding proposal for new Sacramento Animal Shelter B. Goal 2 – Needs Assessment recommendation – address priority interim improvements for the existing shelter facility
• Identify priority interim improvements to address safety concerns and public access at the existing Front Street Animal Shelter.
C. Goal 3 – Engage efforts to raise adoption rates at the shelter
• Employ successful data -based activities from organizations such as “Maddie’s Million” or “human Animal Support Service” (HASS) to increase adoptions by approximately 200 pets/year
D. Goal 4 – Continue to investigate pilot project to enhance 311 call center services
• Request update from 311 manager regarding animal related calls • Identify partners for possible pilot project
Appendices
A. Please see Appendix A1 & A2 for a copy of the Needs Assessment power point presentation and final written report.
B. Please see Appendix B for the draft City of Sacramento Animal Wellbeing Commission purpose, powers and duties description, as adopted by the Committee in June 2024.
C. Please see Appendix C for a copy of the new brochure. 1 2025 Animal Wellbeing Workplan January 2025 POWERS & DUTIES Strategies Tactics Involved Commissioners Comments
1. Assist keeping people and pets
together
311 project 311 data update
Open Intake
HOAP
Pet Pantry
RTO
?
Leah Morris
Paul Hefner
What’s the scope of the problem in
Sacramento? What’s driving intake?
What strategies present greatest
opportunity for improvement?
2. Provide Quality Care for animals
housed at the city’s shelter
Continue promoting Needs
Assessment and next steps:
• Site selection
• Prioritize Interim
improvements
• Build community awareness
All Commissioners
Lead: Leah Morris
Paul Hefner – funding, interim:
wayfinding
Kathy Garcia – site selection
Deneise Bell – interim:
wayfinding
Paula Treat - funding
Report sent to all council members
including Member Pluckebaum.
Need to send to Mayor McCarty and
Member Dickinson
3. Encourage low-cost spay/neuter
services; identify funding
Create a list of Sacramento
veterinary clinic and investigate
opportunities to provide select low
cost spay/neuter services.
Denise Bell
4. Ensure shelter meets/exceeds
standards, Association of Shelter
Veterinarians Guidelines
Awaiting 2024 Shelter audit results.
Review of ASV guidelines
Kristie Middleton?
Paul Hefner?
Need to review full audit when it is
released.
1. Programs at the shelter Kristie Middleton
2. Animals available for adoption
Continue monitoring adoption/foot
traffic data
Identify additional opportunities to
improve conversion rate
Paul Hefner
3. 2
Importance of spaying & neutering
4. Importance of ensuring animals
have medical care/vaccines
5. Shelter volunteer program
Kristie Middleton?
Youth Commissioner Phew?
6. Serve as a liaison with the
community/provide a forum for
public discussion.
Continued liaison with council
members (tours)
Plan another Public Forum?
Kathy Garcia
7. Advise the city council on city
ordinances and state legislation
related to animal wellbeing in the
city.
Monitor related city ordinances and
state legislation (cities across CA or
US? Other states?)
Propose new city ordinance or state
legislation?
Paul Hefner?
Paula Treat?
8. Annually, report to the city council
on recommendations and
activities of the commission
Annually present report to P&PE
Committee in January
Draft in July – August annually
Adopt and move to P&PE in
September annually
Chair & Vice Chair draft
Commissioners review and
approve
2024 Annual Report to be delivered to
P&PE Committee (Date?)
3