Fresno County review recommends raising Fresno Humane contract to about $5.1 million and building medical capacity

A county-commissioned assessment released April 22 urged Fresno County to stabilize and expand animal services funding and operations at the county shelter, recommending an emergency budget increase and a phased plan to raise the contractor compensation to approximately $5.1 million per year while expanding on-site medical capacity and field services.

Amina Flores Becker, Deputy County Administrative Officer, and David Lucchini, Director of Public Health, summarized the report by consulting firm Hatching. Key findings included chronic overcrowding (the facility’s stated capacity is 180 kennels), rising intake, and save-rate declines: target industry save rates are generally around 90 percent while the shelter’s live-release rate fell to 65 percent in 2023, recovered to 70 percent in 2024 and was reported at about 81 percent year-to-date in 2025. Hatching found high staffing vacancies (38–45 percent), frequent turnover among entry-level animal care assistants, long average lengths of stay (peaking at 26 days in 2023) and insufficient on-site medical capability.

The report documented contract history and funding. The original shelter contract with Fresno Humane (FHS) began January 1, 2020 (roughly $1.78–$2.05 million per year, with later amendments). Board-authorized interim increases in late 2024 raised compensation; Hatching recommended further emergency funding through June 2025 and a new multi-year contract at about $5.1 million annually in early phases to stabilize operations and build capacity.

Hatching’s phased recommendations: immediate stabilization through increased contract funding and targeted hires (business manager, medical coordinator), purchase of climate-controlled transport vehicles, and filling front-line positions (16 animal care assistants, six animal control officers, three dispatchers). Phase 2 would add on-site medical services and a surgical suite to reduce off-site veterinary costs and increase spay/neuter capacity; Phase 3 would expand community programs for adoptions, foster recruitment, multilingual outreach, microchipping and regular off-site adoption events.

Board action and direction: supervisors praised staff and FHS for their work and unanimously approved a motion directing staff to pursue the consultant recommendations and return with a contract proposal and budget details—timed so compensation does not drop on July 1, 2025 as currently scheduled under the existing agreement. Supervisors repeatedly emphasized the urgency of climate-controlled transport, improved staffing and veterinary capacity; several asked staff to return within 30 days with contract language so that the July 1 payment reduction does not take effect.

Operational context: Lucchini said staffing constitutes 60–80 percent of shelter costs. Supervisors discussed housing insecurity and agricultural-area stray-dog populations during the public discussion; several asked staff to pursue regional coordination (including with the City of Fresno) and consider a county-level breeder ordinance modeled on the city’s recent action. Supervisors also supported using existing county reserves set aside for a future facility as a potential near-term funding source if necessary.

Ending: The board directed staff to continue work on a multi-year contract proposal aligned with the phased plan and to return with a recommendation before July 1, 2025, with the goal of stabilizing operations and building toward improved medical capacity and higher live-release rates.