Spokane County proposes standardized animal care and control agreement; Medical Lake told to expect higher costs and new reporting

Spokane County and SCRAPS (regional animal care and control) staff briefed the Medical Lake City Council on Oct. 7 about a proposed standardized interlocal agreement to harmonize service levels, billing and reporting across jurisdictions. County CEO Scott Simmons and SCRAPS managers presented a transition from multiple, inconsistent interlocal agreements to a single, simplified methodology that allocates costs by calls for service and credits jurisdictions for local licensing revenue.

Simmons told council the county has sent each jurisdiction a draft and that the county plans to harmonize the agreements so "every jurisdiction can expect the same level of service." He said staff initially proposed a November start but recommended a Jan. 1 effective date for clarity and billing alignment. Simmons described the agreement as a five-year term with annual renewals and 90-day notice before an automatic renewal lapses.

Key points raised in the presentation and council discussion: - Cost allocation: County staff proposed charging jurisdictions their share of SCRAPSoperating cost based on calls for service; Medical Lakewas shown to bear a small percentage of total activity. The county will credit jurisdictions for pet-licensing revenues to reduce net cost. - Expected cost change: Staff told the council the new methodology would increase Medical Lakes assessed cost by roughly $10,000 a year, approximately a 25% increase over the 2014 allocation. - Enforcement and staffing: SCRAPS representatives said enforcement activity has increased after adopting digital citation software and more training; the department said it has nine animal protection officers (APOs) as its full complement but fluctuates and was at eight at the time of the meeting. Staff said they have deployed more infractions and one criminal charge had been filed in Medical Lake the same day. - Court process and filing: Council members asked where civil and criminal filings would go and whether the city would incur additional legal costs. SCRAPS staff said citations for Medical Lake are filed in district court; the county will confirm any court filing or prosecution costs and report back in writing. - Dispatch and reporting: SCRAPS uses a call-center model with in-hours internal dispatch and a third-party after-hours answering service; county staff agreed to improve public outreach about whom residents should call for animal issues and to provide monthly jurisdiction-level service reports (calls, response times, impounds, outcomes) instead of only annual reports.

Council response and next steps: Medical Lake council members asked staff to clarify how court filing costs would be handled and to return with additional information about the proposed interlocal agreement and service-level details. Council members expressed interest in increased community outreach on licensing, spay-and-neuter programs and how to report animal-related complaints. No contract or agreement was approved at the Oct. 7 meeting; county staff said they will follow up on court-cost language, finalize the interlocal drafts and discuss a proposed Jan. 1 start date with each jurisdiction.

Direct quotes from the presentation included Scott Simmons: "The idea is to harmonize them so that every jurisdiction can expect the same level of service." SCRAPS field operations manager Chris Miller described the field team and supervision structure and SCRAPS staff highlighted recent training and enforcement gains. The council did not take a formal vote on a new interlocal agreement at the meeting.