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New Iberia delays decision on animal-control deal with Iberia Parish after hours-long debate
Summary
City leaders and volunteers discussed a proposed cooperative agreement on animal-control services that would increase city costs and create a city dog-catcher and kennel arrangement; council voted to defer the draft agreement for two weeks for further work and negotiation with parish officials.
Mayor (name not stated) opened a public discussion of a draft cooperative endeavor agreement between the city of New Iberia and Iberia Parish to provide animal-control services after the city’s current contract ends in March. The mayor said the city has been studying options and proposed bringing more professional input, a contracted dog-catcher, and increased kennel capacity as part of the transition.
The mayor told the council the finance impact would be substantial: the city’s consultant quoted a kennel cost of $19 per animal per night and the mayor presented a worked example that, at 40 kennels occupied year-round, would amount to roughly $277,400 annually. He also said the city would seed a spay-and-neuter voucher program with $20,000 and that the parish has historically euthanized about 150 dogs a year.
Volunteer Debbie Hester, who identified herself as a five-year volunteer at Iberia Parish Animal Control, urged council members not to treat animals as “city” or “parish” dogs and warned that designating separate kennels would hamper rescues. “We don’t want that division,” Hester said. She also urged immediate spay/neuter of dogs taken into custody and suggested fines for those responsible for cruelty or repeated abandonments.
Council members focused on three practical questions: how many kennels to contract for (the mayor proposed 40), what retention or holding period adoptable animals should have, and how to measure contractor accountability. Council members proposed checkpoints such as weekly reports from the parish shelter, regular inspections of kennel conditions, and trigger levels for rescue partners to act when occupancy reaches a threshold.
Several council members encouraged creative adoption incentives and tighter tracking. One council member suggested offering vouchers for spay/neuter and waiving adoption fees as an incentive; another proposed a policy that would notify rescue partners when kennels reached 35 of 40 capacity to accelerate adoptions. The mayor said he had already contacted potential veterinary partners willing to advise on medical decisions and to help set retention and euthanasia criteria.
After extended debate about cost, public safety (dangerous or biting animals), and operational details such as whether the city would employ or contract a dog-catcher and whether the service should be 24/7 or an on-call combination, a motion to defer the draft cooperative agreement passed. Council moved to defer Resolution 25153 for two weeks so staff can refine the draft and continue negotiations with parish officials; Councilman Ron Davis recorded a “No” during the voice/voting step as the motion passed by machine vote (tally not published in the transcript).
Next steps: the mayor said he will return with a revised draft in two weeks, including more detailed cost estimates, contract options for a dog-catcher, and a proposed retention policy for adoptable animals. The council did not adopt any permanent policy tonight and instead asked staff to supply the details needed for a final vote.
