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Animal services to move to police department; shelter operations, incinerator replacement and spay/neuter demand discussed
Summary
Health and Animal Services Director Christina Heinen told the council animal control officers will transfer to the Police Department on July 1; she also outlined shelter statistics, a failing incinerator that needs replacement and continued demand for spay/neuter services amid chronic overcapacity.
Christina Heinen, director of Health and Animal Services, told the council the city will move animal control officers, associated funds, vehicles and equipment to the Police Department beginning July 1.
"Animal control is moving over to PD," Heinen said, explaining the transfer aligns operationally with other jurisdictions and will reassign salaries, vehicles and training budgets to police. She said staff and logistics remain to be finalized ahead of the transfer.
Heinen reviewed shelter workload and accomplishments: a nearly 94 percent live‑release rate, more than 5,000 animal‑control calls in the past year (5,152 cited), roughly 1,800 health inspections and continuing high demand for shelter capacity. She told council members the department ran a spay/neuter coalition event with about 40 slots and performed more than 20 surgeries; the program aims for quarterly events but staffing and veterinary availability are constraints.
Heinen said the department must replace a failing incinerator used for cremation services and for safe disposal of law‑enforcement evidence. "The incinerator has started to fail...so it needed to be replaced," she said. The incinerator sits on property currently maintained by police, which staff said supports shifting incinerator responsibilities to PD.
Council members asked operational questions about county contracts, shared calls and shelter capacity; Heinen said county calls are included in the shelter’s call totals and that county responses can be lengthy because of travel time.
Ending — Heinen and council members highlighted recent adoptions (including a long‑stay dog called Bongo) as positive outcomes while noting ongoing staffing and capacity pressures and the department’s continued reliance on grants and partnerships to sustain programs.
