Residents and commissioners press for accountability at county shelter contract; SPCA board governance and facility needs under scrutiny

Public comment at the work session focused on long‑standing concerns about the SPCA of Bradley County’s operation under the county contract. Several speakers, including volunteers and rescue operators, described facilities they said need major improvement, staff working under difficult conditions, and a lack of responsiveness from the SPCA board to questions about finances and plans for a new facility.

Dave Greer, a volunteer at the shelter, said he had presented questions to the board about tax returns and plans for a new building and received no answers; he said the board “has gone radio silent” and that he believes the board’s lack of public meetings may conflict with the Tennessee Open Meetings Act as he read it. Greer told commissioners the county currently pays about $260,000 a year under the contract and warned that without a plan to access…