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Council approves Houston Humane Society partnership for Stafford animals and ends Missouri City interlocal agreement
Summary
Stafford approved a new agreement with the Houston Humane Society to house and process Stafford animals and voted to terminate its prior interlocal agreement with Missouri City; councilmembers said the arrangement will increase adoptions and lower shelter costs while enabling future discussion about TNR (trap–neuter–return).
The Stafford City Council approved a resolution on March 19 to contract with the Houston Humane Society (HHS) to receive Stafford’s animals after mandatory hold times, and the council subsequently voted to terminate the existing interlocal cooperation agreement (ILA) with the City of Missouri City for shared shelter services.
City staff and animal-control advocates described the HHS agreement as a cost-saving, life-saving partnership. Animal-control officer Pete Ramirez and several council members credited prior discussions and staff outreach for making the agreement possible. "Houston Humane Society has the facility to help us with that, and we can maybe start that next year or this year depending on what's left," a staff presenter said during the discussion.
Speakers from HHS outlined the organization’s intake and rehoming process and said Stafford animals will receive medical care, be entered into HHS’s adoption pipeline and gain access to networked transport and rehoming partners. Councilmembers noted the city currently pays Missouri City roughly $9,186 per month for shelter services and said the new arrangement is expected to cost less per month (an $8,000 figure was referenced in public discussion). City staff said details on contract length and automatic renewal terms would be handled in the agreement; the council later asked staff to review the contract length and bring any suggested changes back.
Council also approved notice of termination for the interlocal agreement with Missouri City. Staff said the contract with HHS is effectively in place and that terminating the ILA with Missouri City is a procedural next step after finalizing the new agreement.
Council and community members raised the possibility of using savings from the new arrangement to expand TNR (trap–neuter–return) efforts and in-city adoption events. Several residents and council members asked staff to pursue adoption outreach in Stafford and to make adopted-pet listings visible to Stafford residents online.
Votes on both the HHS agreement and the ILA termination were recorded as unanimous.
