Board highlights new complaint database, staff promotions and work on professional‑conduct rules
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Summary
Board staff told members the agency’s complaint database is live, staff roles are shifting to add a second staff veterinarian and the rules committee will return chapter 573 (standards of professional conduct) to the April meeting after rewrites.
Board staff reported several administrative and operational changes intended to speed complaint handling and prepare for the next legislative cycle.
The agency said the complaint module of a new in‑house database is fully operational and allows public users to check complaint status online. Staff credited a recent Salesforce‑based system rollout with shrinking the number of open investigations from roughly 450 to about 190 and reducing investigator caseloads. Enforcement staff told the board the system replaced manual e‑mail and file transfers and improved inspection and case‑tracking workflows.
Staff also announced personnel changes. Kristen Stavro was promoted from staff attorney to chief of staff effective Feb. 1 and will lead long‑term project management, communications and outreach. The agency said it will not replace the promoted attorney with another attorney role; instead it plans to hire a second staff veterinarian to address an influx of medical‑review work and reduce the backlog of cases awaiting medical review.
The board’s rules committee reported continued work on chapter 573 (standards of professional conduct); because of rewrites the committee will postpone that chapter’s full discussion until the April board meeting and expects to present chapters 577 and 575 at the July meeting. Staff announced two virtual town halls, on Feb. 11 and March 11, and said a draft strategic plan will be ready for board review in April to inform the 2027 legislative appropriations request.
Finance and licensing updates accompanied the operational items. Licensing said the quarter saw 185 new licenses and 3,250 renewals, yielding 15,099 active licenses as of Nov. 30, 2025. Finance staff told the board the agency is 33% through the fiscal year with 26% of the budget expended and roughly $1.4 million in revenue to date.
Board members asked about interim steps to relieve medical‑review backlogs and whether the board could temporarily use volunteer veterinarians; staff said using members for medical reviews would reduce the pool available for IC panels and could create other bottlenecks but that a recruitment posting had attracted attention and staff expected to fill the veterinarian role within months.