Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Animal Shelter Oversight topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Volunteers urge council to move Laguna Beach Animal Shelter out of Police Department and secure funds; city says interim full-time manager will be placed
Summary
Volunteers and donor groups asked council to reassign oversight of the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter away from the Police Department, to post a full‑time shelter manager immediately, and to protect donated funds. City managers said an interim full‑time manager will be appointed and donation funds will be safeguarded pending a longer review.
Multiple community volunteer groups asked the Laguna Beach City Council to change the city’s animal shelter oversight, to ensure a full‑time on-site manager after the long-serving director’s retirement, and to protect donation funds raised for animal care.
Volunteers and supporters, representing the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter and its fundraising arm Protecting Unwanted Pets (PUP), told council they want two immediate actions: move administrative oversight of the shelter out of the Police Department to a department more focused on animal services and post and fill a full‑time shelter manager position before the current director’s October 5 retirement. Speakers also asked the city to place donated funds in a separate account restricted for direct animal care.
Katie VanHarten, speaking for PUP, said the group had submitted a formal letter requesting the donor funds be held in an account “that is protected and can only be used for the direct benefit of the animals.” Diane Crandall, a volunteer and PUP board member, urged the council to “place the supervision of the animal shelter under a department other than the police department” and to post the manager position immediately.
City Manager Dave (City Manager) responded in the meeting that the city takes the volunteers’ concerns seriously. He said the city would provide an interim full‑time shelter manager to cover the immediate transition after Nancy Goodwin’s retirement and that he would ensure donation funds are used only for the benefit of animals. "We will have an interim full time position to replace Nancy," the city manager said during his remarks, and he added he would make sure donation funds were used only for shelter animals.
The city manager said a permanent organizational decision on reassigning the shelter to another department requires study, job‑classification work and budget comparisons; that process will take time. He also said the city is restarting recruitment of a permanent manager after reviewing the job classification and compensation benchmark data.
No formal council action transferring oversight took place at the meeting; council members acknowledged the volunteers’ requests and city staff said they will pursue an interim appointment, safeguard donations, and consider structural changes as part of an organizational review.
