La Marque — At the Aug. 12 budget workshop the council received a briefing on animal services provided through the Galveston County animal resource/field services contract. James Osteen, the city’s advisory committee representative, said contract amounts are population‑based and that the county’s consolidated shelter and field services remain less costly than establishing a city‑run animal control operation.

Why it matters: Animal control contracts involve recurring operating costs for sheltering, field patrols and veterinary services. The council must decide whether to continue the county contract or consider a fuller, city‑run program that would require higher staff and facility costs.

What the county contract covers and numbers named
James Osteen (Galveston County advisory committee) reviewed the county budget summary he received from county finance. He said the FY2026 figure the county provided to La Marque is about $154,000 (the proposed contract total for FY2026), and he broke it into shelter and field services: Shelter operation approximately $93,453 and field services roughly $49,000. He said Texas City’s shelter operation line by contrast is about $780,000 because county charges allocate by population and service usage.

Cost comparison and operational notes
During the discussion Chief Wagner said, from experience in other municipalities, operating a fully city‑run animal control and shelter operation typically costs “$350 to $400” thousand per year because of staffing (24/7 coverage, kennel staffing), vehicles, veterinary, feed and equipment. Osteen and the police chief told council the county contract includes sheltering and field pickup and that the county typically staffs multiple field officers with turn‑over; pay for county animal staff was described roughly in the range of $15/hour resulting in annual payroll components in the tens of thousands for each city’s share.

Next steps
Council members asked staff to continue reviewing the county contract detail and how that contract charge is calculated, and to consider alternatives only after comparing full life‑cycle costs (staffing, vehicle, shelter, 24/7 care). No formal action was taken during the workshop.

Ending
La Marque will continue reviewing detailed county line items and will ask county staff and the city finance director for supporting documentation tying the county‑provided totals to the city’s FY2026 budget.