CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: October 7, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Jasmine Glover-Mcnamara
Department: Animal Services
Subject: Animal Services Staffing Realignment and Shelter Support Adjustments (All Wards)
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2026-160 authorizing the City Manager to eliminate two vacant Shelter Veterinarian positions and one vacant Animal Control Officer II position and reallocate existing funding to support veterinary, shelter operations, and facility maintenance staffing; and approve an increase in the Department of Animal Services authorized permanent staffing from 70 to 71 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
City Manager's Comments
The City Manager recommends approval.
Executive Summary
The Department of Animal Services is requesting approval to realign existing positions and implement staffing adjustments necessary to sustain operations as a high-intake municipal shelter. These changes are funded entirely through the reallocation of existing salary and benefit appropriations associated with three vacant positions. No additional General Fund appropriation is requested.
The proposed staffing realignment includes the elimination of two vacant Shelter Veterinarian positions and one Animal Control Officer II position. In their place, the Department will expand veterinary coverage by adding additional Per Diem Veterinarians or offering additional scheduling days to existing Per Diem Veterinarians, while also adding one Animal Services Supervisor to oversee the Veterinary Services Division, one Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT), one Veterinary Assistant, five seasonal Animal Shelter Attendants during peak season, and one Facilities Maintenance Mechanic.
These staffing adjustments represent a strategic, cost-conscious approach to improving operational efficiency and strengthening in-house medical capabilities while limiting the expansion of permanent full-time staffing to essential operational needs.
Based on the proposed staffing model, approximately $183,678.50 in annual personnel costs are anticipated to be reimbursed through the regional partner agreements, representing 30% of the $612,261.66 total annual staffing cost. That leaves approximately $428,583.16, or 70%, attributable to San Bernardino. During FY 2025/26, the Department cared for more than 10,000 live animals, completed 2,615 surgeries, facilitated 3,753 adoptions, and coordinated 2,898 rescue placements.
Background
On June 15, 2022, the Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-125, authorizing the establishment of the Shelter Veterinarian classification to support inhouse veterinary services and improve medical care capacity at the Department of Animal Services. Since that time, the Department has made consistent recruitment efforts to fill Shelter Veterinarian positions. Despite these efforts, recruitment for two full-time Shelter Veterinarian positions has remained unsuccessful for nearly three years due to competitive salary structures and benefits offered by private and corporate veterinary practices that exceed those available within municipal government.
In response to these recruitment challenges, the Department transitioned to a Per Diem Veterinarian model to maintain continuity of medical services and surgical operations. This model has proven effective in supporting medical shelter needs while allowing the Department to maintain flexibility in staffing levels. The effectiveness of this model is demonstrated by the Department's significant increase in surgical capacity. During FY 25-26, seven Per Diem Veterinarians performed 2,615 spay and neuter surgeries. As veterinary services have expanded, the Department has identified the need for additional temporary shelter staff support, veterinary support, dedicated supervision, and facility maintenance to sustain this level of service. The proposed staffing realignment reallocates existing resources to better align with the Department's operational needs.
Discussion
The Department of Animal Services is considered a high-intake municipal shelter based on FY 25/26 annual live impounds of 10,344 animals. At peak capacity, the shelter houses approximately 500 dogs in addition to 150 cats and other animals requiring daily husbandry, veterinary care, cleaning, enrichment, customer service, and adoption services. The Department also processed 1,376 deceased animal transactions during the fiscal year. While often overlooked, these cases require staff time for customer service, intake, documentation, handling, and final disposition, adding to the daily operational workload of both customer service and shelter staff.
Staff completed 3,753 adoptions, facilitated 2,898 rescue placements, and coordinated thousands of daily animal care interactions throughout the fiscal year.
The Per Diem Veterinarian model has proven effective in maintaining surgical capacity.
Increasing our Per Diem Veterinarians, Registered Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants, and seasonal Shelter Attendants will allow us to stay on trend to further increase our surgery capacity to meet our goal of ensuring every adopted animal leaves the shelter spayed or neutered. Municipal shelter environments are not competitive with private and corporate veterinary practices, which often offer higher salaries, signing incentives, and expanded workplace benefits. Our 61-year-old shelter is not designed to offer an adequate surgical suite, medical clinic, modern technology or basic diagnostic capabilities, further reducing our chances of obtaining a full-time veterinarian.
Within FY 2025/26, the Department spent nearly $56,440 on outside veterinary services to treat sick and injured animals. During the fiscal year, Per Diem Veterinarians provided only ten days of shelter medicine coverage. As a result, many procedures including laceration repairs, splinting, prolapse reductions, enucleations, and hematoma repairs were outsourced to outside veterinary clinics despite the potential for these services to be performed in-house with expanded Per Diem coverage and appropriate veterinary support staff. External treatment costs average $1,200 to $1,400 per animal, while the Per Diem Veterinarian rate of $1,500 per day becomes cost-neutral or cost-saving when even a single case is treated in-house.
Expanding in-house veterinary capacity would not only reduce treatment costs but also improve continuity of care, decrease transportation and administrative burdens, and allow animals to receive treatment more quickly.
Due to the age and operational demands of the Department’s 61-year-old shelter facility, Animal Services submits hundreds of maintenance and facility repair requests annually related to plumbing, kennel repair, electrical systems, gates, fencing, drainage, HVAC, flooring, sanitation systems, and general wear associated with housing more than 10,000 live animals annually. Establishing a dedicated on-site Facilities Maintenance Mechanic assigned to Animal Services would significantly reduce response times, improve preventative maintenance, lessen the burden on the City’s Facilities Department, and ensure critical repairs are addressed quickly in a complex operational environment that functions as a shelter, veterinary medical facility, surgery center, and public safety operation.
The proposed staffing adjustments are funded through the elimination of two vacant Shelter Veterinarian positions and one vacant Animal Control Officer II position. Based on current salary and benefit allocations, the total cost of requested positions is $612,261.66, offset by $612,354.65 in exchanged position funding. This results in a net decrease of $92.99 in annual salary and benefit costs.
The proposed realignment results in a net increase of one permanent full-time equivalent (FTE) position, increasing the Department's authorized permanent staffing from 70 to 71 FTEs. Although the realignment increases permanent FTEs by one, the associated salary and benefit costs remain within existing appropriations through the elimination and reallocation of three vacant positions.
Strategic Goals and Priorities
Aligns with Strategic Goal #1: Improved Operational & Financial Capacity by strategically reallocating existing resources to better align staffing with operational demands, improving efficiency, reducing reliance on outsourced veterinary services, and maximizing the use of existing budgeted positions without increasing the Department's overall personnel budget and Strategic Goal #3: Improved Quality of Life by strengthening veterinary services, improving shelter operations, expanding surgical capacity, and ensuring the Department can continue providing timely, humane care for animals while supporting public health and safety.
Fiscal Impact
The proposed staffing realignment is budget neutral and will be funded through the reallocation of existing salary and benefit appropriations associated with three currently vacant positions. No additional General Fund appropriation is requested.
The realignment increases the Department’s authorized permanent staffing by one FTE, from 70 to 71, while remaining within existing salary and benefit appropriations.
Seasonal Animal Shelter Attendant costs assume five positions at up to 1,000 hours each annually. Per Diem Veterinarian costs assume 49 additional scheduled veterinarian days annually at the established Per Diem rate.
Based on the proposed staffing model, approximately $183,678.50 in annual personnel costs are anticipated to be reimbursed through regional partner agreements, representing approximately 30% of the $612,261.66 total annual staffing cost.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2026-160 authorizing the City Manager to eliminate two vacant Shelter Veterinarian positions and one vacant Animal Control Officer II position and reallocate existing funding to support veterinary, shelter operations, and facility maintenance staffing; and approve an increase in the Department of Animal Services authorized permanent staffing from 70 to 71 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
Attachments
Attachment 1 - Animal Services Salary & Benefits for Exchanges & Additional Funded Positions
Attachment 2 - Resolution 2026-000 Animal Services Staffing Realignment and Shelter Support Adjustments
Attachment 3 - Animal Services Org Chart Proposed Positions Ward:
All Wards
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
June 15, 2022 Adopted Resolution No. 2022-125 approving the job classification and salary schedule for the Shelter Veterinarian job classification.
CC:
Eric Levitt, City Manager