Tulsa animal services outlines staffing, budget plan for new shelter as intakes climb
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Summary
City animal services told the council the new shelter will require more staff and space to handle rising intakes and improve live‑release outcomes. Staff proposed phased FY27–FY29 personnel additions and flagged an estimated $500,000 roof need and roughly $190,000 in annual maintenance at the existing facility.
Tulsa animal services presented a staffing and budget plan for the city’s new animal shelter, saying a larger facility and rising intakes mean the department will need additional employees and operational dollars to meet public expectations and improve animal outcomes.
The department reported that animal intakes increased from about 7,200 in 2023 to about 8,500 in 2024, and staff projected more than 9,000 intakes in 2025. The shelter’s live‑release rate has risen from roughly 66% three years ago to about 78% year‑to‑date in 2025, and adoption rates and transfers to rescue partners have grown, staff said. “Our current staffing levels are below recommended standards, national standards,” the director of animal welfare said, noting kennel workers were caring for roughly four times the number of animals recommended by industry guidelines.
To operate the new, larger facility — described by staff as increasing overall square footage from about 16,000 to about 24,000 and expanding kennel capacity — animal services proposed a phased personnel plan. For FY27 the department recommended adding kennel workers (to split into two shifts), one additional veterinarian and one veterinary assistant, an office assistant to help manage high call volumes and two additional animal control officers. Staff also outlined FY28 and FY29 hires, including adoption counselors and additional ACOs, to support higher intake and the goal of keeping animals healthy and moving through the system.
Colton Jones, who presented the operations statistics, said the new shelter’s kennel capacity would grow substantially: the current footprint was described as roughly 162 dog kennels and 76 cat kennels; the planned facility would expand dog kennel capacity to about 234 and cat kennels to about 140, with each kennel roughly twice the size of existing runs.
Councilors asked about upstream strategies such as large‑scale spay/neuter efforts. Staff said the city already partners with mobile clinics and nonprofit partners to hold low‑cost spay/neuter events (an example package including surgery, vaccines and microchip was described as about $99 through partners), and said an additional dedicated investment could expand those mobile clinics. Staff cautioned, however, that most providers already run clinics and a municipal program would typically bring partners and mobile resources into Tulsa rather than replacing existing regional capacity.
The department also flagged potential continuing uses and costs for the current shelter property. Staff said the existing site would likely be retained for certain functions — including continued access to an on‑site incinerator that cannot be relocated, quarantine space for emergency intakes, partner‑run spay/neuter clinics and storage containers — and noted an estimated one‑time need of about $500,000 for a new roof and about $190,000 per year in historical maintenance expenses for the current facility.
The council posed several follow‑up requests: more detailed cost estimates for the proposed position additions, a clearer breakdown of one‑time versus ongoing maintenance costs for the existing facility and analysis of how a potential large spay/neuter investment would change shelter staffing and shelter inflow. Animal services staff said they would return with more detail in subsequent budget briefings.
