LaSalle County committee forwards animal-control budget; agreement with IVAR being drafted

The LaSalle County Public Safety Committee on Thursday voted to forward proposed animal-control budgets to the county finance office after hearing that staff are finalizing an intergovernmental agreement to house stray animals with IVAR.
Committee members were told staff expect to present a written shelter agreement with IVAR by the next meeting. "We had a good meeting with them last month…we're still working out the finer details," an animal-control representative said.
The committee was briefed on small line-item changes in the animal-control budget. Boarding and animal-care spending was increased to reflect more strays being accepted now that the county has an identified sheltering partner; rabies-tag revenue and licensing also rose as staff noted the county began offering cat licenses about a year and a half ago. The county’s spay-and-neuter fund (Fund 55) receives a portion of higher rabies-certificate fees for intact animals; those funds are paid out to spay/neuter providers.
Committee members asked which fund would cover any boarding payments under the IVAR agreement and were told the cost would come from Fund 55, the spay-and-neuter/boarding fund, and specifically from the boarding and animal-care line. The animal-control presenter said the intention is for the shelter agreement to be intergovernmental so other municipalities and agencies in the county share costs.
The committee approved motions to accept the animal-control report and to pay animal-control bills. A motion by Joanne to forward the animal-control budgets to finance was seconded by Tom and carried by voice vote.
The presenter said the department is not adding payroll for a new hire this year, preferring to first pursue internal efficiencies and periodic administrative help from the sheriff's department; hiring could be reconsidered next year. Staff also said they plan to reduce recurring software subscription costs tied to ShelterPro by migrating or archiving records and exploring lower-cost systems; they noted a prior ShelterPro subscription was about $4,000 and they budgeted $5,000 as a contingency for software alternatives.
Committee members did not take additional action on the IVAR agreement at the meeting; staff will return with a written draft and the budgets proceed to the finance office for review.