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Committee weighs hiring full‑time veterinarian versus continuing $200K in contract services
Summary
Animal Care said locating a full‑time veterinarian is difficult; the department currently spends roughly $200,000 annually on contracted veterinary services and is evaluating whether moving some of those dollars into a salaried position would be cost‑effective. Commissioners raised concerns about competition with private practice and the scope of in‑house services.
Michelle Robertson told the committee that recruiting and retaining a full‑time veterinarian has been difficult statewide and that Animal Care is exploring shifting existing contract and professional‑technical dollars into a personnel line to hire one. Robertson said the department already contracts veterinarians for emergency work and that private clinics often decline shelter spay/neuter workloads.
"The contract, veterinarians that come into our space and then also a contract vet off for just emergencies," Robertson said, describing the current model, and the county's financial lead said, "We're spending around $200,000 a year, it looks like, on those professional technical services." Committee members asked whether hiring a full-time veterinarian (with salary and benefits) would eliminate most or all of that contract spending or only a portion; Robertson said some emergency and external costs would remain but that moving existing funds could cover a salaried position.
Commissioners also raised concerns about competing with private veterinary clinics. Robertson said an in-house veterinarian would focus on spay/neuter, rabies vaccines and care for shelter animals and that low‑cost community events could be offered primarily for residents who otherwise could not afford private‑sector care. The committee asked staff to model whether hiring a salaried veterinarian would be cheaper overall than continuing to contract for services.
What happens next: staff will return with comparative numbers showing how much contracted professional/technical spending could be replaced by a salaried hire and what emergency/outsourced expenses would remain. No personnel decision was made during the hearing.
