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Council extends San Diego Humane Society contract to operate El Cajon animal shelter for five more years
Summary
The city council approved a five‑year extension to its agreement with the San Diego Humane Society to operate the El Cajon animal shelter. The renewed contract continues CPI‑based increases, adds a 2.5% fixed component, and caps annual increases at 9% with a meet‑and‑confer requirement if the cap is exceeded.
The El Cajon City Council voted unanimously April 8 to extend the city's contract with the San Diego Humane Society to operate the El Cajon animal shelter for an additional five years, continuing monthly payments that began under the original 2020 agreement.
City staff described the history of the contract and the proposed changes. The original agreement began in 2020 with a monthly payment of about $83,000 and provided annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. The proposed extension keeps CPI escalation but adds a guaranteed 2.5% component on top of CPI and caps annual increases at 9 percent. Staff said the Humane Society and the city will meet and confer if the Society proposes increases above the 9% cap, and council approval would be required for any such exceptional increase.
Staff reported recent site tours and said the shelter appeared ‘‘very well managed’’ and humane, with staff and volunteers conducting the work professionally. The staff presentation said the Humane Society had experienced periods of operating at a loss on the El Cajon contract and that the added CPI+2.5% structure and cap were intended to better reflect industry labor and medical cost pressures.
Council members questioned the change from CPI only to CPI plus 2.5% and whether the Humane Society is a nonprofit; staff said the organization is a California nonprofit and that the city had reviewed other shelters and found similar cost pressures. Staff also noted that contracting with the Humane Society remains less costly than operating a city-run shelter, and that outsourcing allows reallocation of some public-safety staff time.
A member moved to adopt the resolution approving the services agreement; the motion carried by unanimous vote.
