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Residents press council on animal control performance as county reviews animal‑care budgets and facilities
Summary
Public testimony and agency presentations at the May 1 budget hearing pressed the council on response times, shelter capacity and implementation of best‑practice models for animal control; the county's new animal‑care agency described outreach, microchipping and planned facility improvements.
Speakers at the Hawaii County Council’s May 1 special budget hearing urged faster and clearer animal‑control responses and broader adoption of best‑practice sheltering models while county animal‑care officials outlined recent program changes and pending facility work.
Sylvia Dolena, testifying remotely about Bill 31 during the early session, appealed for investment in preventive approaches and adoption of national animal‑control protocols. “We cannot continue to throw more money to a problem, but we can invest in solution, and preventative solutions are best,” she told the council, while listing community concerns that calls often go unanswered. Dolena and other public commenters gave multiple examples of delayed responses, including one account of a dog bite in Ocean View for which the caller said “the police dispatch took down the information. They transferred the call to animal control, and nothing happened.”
Animal‑care administrators and the county’s newly created Bridal/Animal Control agency later described steps intended to…
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