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Henderson council authorizes talks to renegotiate animal-center and jail services with Russ County
Summary
Council authorized staff to begin negotiations with Russ County to update a long‑standing agreement that lets the county use the Henderson Animal Center and the city use county jail capacity; council said changes in law and caseloads require an updated agreement.
The Henderson City Council on April 15 authorized staff to begin renegotiating a long‑standing agreement with Russ County that allows county inmates to be housed in the city jail and county use of the Henderson Animal Center for animal care.
City staff said the agreement — sometimes called a "pets-for-prisoners" arrangement — has been in place for many years but needs updating because state law and local caseloads have changed. Staff and council members said the animal center is housing more animals now than the arrangement originally anticipated and that the city should reassess the terms.
"We probably just need to update this, and look at it from a different perspective and just kind of see what that looks like," a city official said. City staff praised Carissa Pool and the animal center team for their ongoing management of shelter operations.
Councilman Michael Searcy said the city will exercise the option to terminate the existing agreement to open negotiations on a new contract; any proposed agreement would come back to the council for approval. Councilman Strong moved to authorize staff to start negotiations; Councilwoman Martin seconded the motion, and council approved it.
No specific new terms, costs or timelines for the renegotiation were discussed at the meeting.
