The City of Palm Desert will replace its reimbursement-based pet program with a city-issued voucher model in partnership with Animal Samaritans, after staff said the prior approach had very low participation.

Daniel Hurtado presented data showing the reimbursement model had, on average, about 10 participants per year since 2020 while a direct voucher pilot earlier in 2025 saw 90 vouchers claimed within a week. Staff recommended a voucher program that provides 100% coverage for spay/neuter procedures (including microchipping), up to four animals per household, funded at $50,000 per fiscal year and to be funded from available animal-services funds; the council approved the recommendation 5-0.

Under the program, residents will obtain a city-issued voucher from the Palm Desert Library (and outside normal business hours at City Hall), present the voucher to Animal Samaritans at time of service, and the nonprofit will invoice the city monthly. The voucher will be valid for 60 days; average cost per animal was reported at $220, enabling the city to maximize the impact of the $50,000 allocation.

Staff said the grant of $50,000 per year is available in the animal services budget and that the approach reduces administrative burden and increases uptake without general-fund impact.

Next steps: staff will implement voucher distribution at the library and coordinate invoicing with Animal Samaritans; the program is funded for up to three years not to exceed $150,000 total.