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Animal services proposes hiring city veterinarian to reduce spay/neuter backlog and operating costs
Summary
Animal Services Manager Randy Batson proposed creating a city-employed veterinarian role and on-site surgical capability to shorten a current 4—6-week wait for spay/neuter slots, reduce outsourced expenses and expand Trap-Neuter-Return capacity.
The city's animal services manager told council a permanent on-staff veterinarian and modest clinic setup would reduce the current backlog of spay/neuter appointments and lower per-animal costs for the shelter and rescue partners.
Current problem: Randy Batson said local rescues and the shelter face a 4—6-week wait for spay/neuter appointments, which often exceeds the five-business-day stray-holding period required by state statute and complicates intake and adoption timelines. "The current wait time is 4 to 6 weeks," Batson said.
Proposal: Batson proposed hiring a licensed veterinarian and outfitting an existing shelter room for surgical procedures and short-term recovery. He estimated start-up equipment costs on the order of $80,000 to $100,000 and recurring surgical consumables of roughly $12—19 per animal (anesthesia, sutures, supplies). The manager said the clinic would primarily serve unowned and shelter animals, plus rescue partners; it would not operate as an open public veterinary clinic.
Why it matters: Batson said an on-site vet would allow quicker spay/neuter of shelter animals, reduce transport to distant clinics (Marshall, Columbia, Elvin), lower overall shelter treatment costs and help sustain the city's Trap-Neuter-Return program for community cats. He said in the past year the shelter incurred an estimated $76,000 in external veterinary expenses that would be reduced with in-house services.
Next steps: Batson asked council to consider an initial capital expense for equipment and to authorize a job classification and operating budget for FY2026; he said some specialty services (complex surgeries or advanced imaging) would still be contracted out.
Ending: Council members asked for cost detail and operational projections. Batson said staff would provide line items for startup equipment costs, recurring supplies and projected revenue from modest service charges to rescues and partners.
