Pet Overpopulation Advisory Council sets $2,100 reserve, plans about $21,000 for grants

At its Sept. 9 meeting, the Pet Overpopulation Advisory Council set aside $2,100 as a year-end reserve and agreed to make roughly $21,000 available for grant awards from current funds. The council met virtually on Sept. 9. Jeff Dawson, chair of the Pet Overpopulation Advisory Council, introduced the financial summary and described the packet materials as “simply a bank statement from Bank Plus.” Dawson said the council’s balance is “a pretty modest amount,” with most receipts coming from the sale of specialty license plates and a $3,300 raffle conducted by the humane society. Why it matters: the council’s grant pool funds local spay/neuter and rescue support; the reserve and spending plan determine how many awards the council can make this year. Most of the meeting’s financial discussion focused on how much to leave in reserve and how much to award in grants. Jonathan Henriques, representing Rescue Alliance, ran through the numbers and noted that keeping $1,005.91 in a separate line would leave about $22,000 for distribution, but said that is “cutting it close” and that the council usually receives additional royalty checks in October that can add roughly $3,000. The council also discussed a roughly $1,000 invoice for website maintenance and adding a link to sell commemorative pet stamps online. Dawson told members the website vendor had offered staged payments and that an updated site would include an online purchase link for stamps. Action: Jonathan Henriques moved that the council maintain a $2,100 reserve through the end of the year; the motion carried. Other fiscal items discussed included the recent hiring of a bookkeeper, the process for remitting stamp proceeds through the Department of Revenue, and uncertainty about exact incoming royalty amounts. Dawson said he was coordinating with the bookkeeper and the Department of Revenue to clarify remittance procedures and noted the bookkeeper will be paid from incoming funds.