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Multnomah County adopts changes to animal-services fees, removes impound fees
Summary
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution updating Chapter 13 of county code on Multnomah County Animal Services fees after a fee study recommended modernizing licensing, boosting participation rather than raising prices, adopting variable adoption fees, and eliminating impound fees for lost or stray pets; the vote was unanimous.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners on a unanimous vote adopted a resolution to update county code governing Multnomah County Animal Services (MCAS) fees, including elimination of impound fees for lost or stray pets while retaining fines for dangerous or repeat infractions.
The board acted after a presentation of a five‑year fee study covering fiscal years 2021–2025. Erin Grama Heck, introduced in the meeting as director of Multnomah County Animal Services, told the board that the data show "we don't have a pricing problem. We have a participation problem,” arguing that outreach and modernization — not higher license fees — are the best way to improve reunification and public‑health tracking for rabies vaccinations. The study recommended four focus areas: licensing, adoptions, impoundment and boarding, and administrative cleanup of obsolete fees in county code.
Why it mattered: the study found…
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