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Audit finds dog‑license controls and substance‑inventory gaps at Cuyahoga County animal shelter
Summary
An internal audit found the shelter provides quality animal care but identified weaknesses in dog‑license administration, declining license revenue, unclear accountability between the shelter and fiscal office, and insufficient controls over controlled substances; management has submitted updates and internal audit will follow up early 2026.
The Cuyahoga County Audit Committee reviewed an internal audit of the county animal shelter released April 2, 2025, that praised the shelter's animal care practices but identified several control and governance issues.
According to the report presented by Corey, internal audit director, the audit found appropriate quarantining of potentially contagious dogs, timely medical exams at intake and a successful 2024 Board of Health inspection. However, the audit reported weaknesses in the administration of dog license revenue and in controls over controlled substances.
Corey summarized the primary findings: dog license revenue and donation transactions exceeded $240,000 during a recent four‑month renewal period, but the current governance structure — where general services in the fiscal office administers licenses while the shelter handles operations — created unclear lines of accountability and inefficiencies. The audit also noted a multi‑year decline in dog license revenue ("since 2021, dog license revenue has declined by over 3,000 or 3% annually"), and it flagged the shelter for offering promotional discounts that the county code prohibits.
The audit recommended formally defining responsibilities between the animal shelter and the fiscal office (in consultation with the law department), improving reconciliation and recording of license revenues, strengthening inventory controls for controlled substances (including segregation of duties or secondary review), and considering reassigning some license administration duties to the shelter if resources and legal compliance allow.
Mindy Nacchione, animal shelter administrator (present virtually), confirmed the shelter provided updates to internal audit and said staff were working on the recommendations. "There are quite a few updates from the animal shelter for the internal audit team to look at," Nacchione said. Internal audit said it had received progress reports and plans to follow up on the highest‑priority (P1) recommendations in early 2026.
Committee members praised the report's graphics and clarity and noted it as an example of effective audit process and interdepartmental cooperation. The committee did not take formal action at the meeting but directed internal audit to proceed with scheduled follow‑up and to report progress to the committee.
