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Committee weighs animal‑welfare staffing boosts and a WildCare funding request
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Summary
City staff asked the Finance Committee to consider additional animal‑welfare positions, kennel replacement and a request that the city contribute roughly 20% of WildCare Oklahoma's city‑served costs (about $50,000); staff will run HR pay‑comparisons and return with analysis before any budget change.
The Finance Committee discussed requests for additional positions at the city’s animal‑welfare function, a capital request to replace kennels and a request for an annual contribution to WildCare Oklahoma.
City staff told the committee that animal‑welfare salaries and potential reclassification of several technician positions would likely require market analysis by HR before changes could be implemented. "Our HR director, Mrs. Pam Henrian, will run some analysis to comparable agencies and see what those positions are paying just to make sure we're within market," a staff member said.
Staff described WildCare’s request as a contribution in the "50 plus thousand dollar range," based on WildCare’s average rescue cost of about $172 per animal multiplied by the number of animals the city referred. Staff also said the city historically had not paid WildCare on an annual basis and that WildCare serves a broader countywide region; staff proposed doing further analysis on cost and funding sources before committing recurring general‑fund dollars.
Council members discussed whether animal welfare should become a separate municipal department instead of operating under the police department, which could give the unit more direct control over overtime and budget decisions; staff agreed to analyze organizational options and to return with comparative data from peer cities.
No formal action was taken. Staff advised they would run pay‑scale and workload analyses and bring findings back during budget deliberations or at a subsequent finance meeting.
"If HR's analysis tells us our pay scale is kinda right where we think we need it to be, we do that analysis before we adjust anybody's pay scale," staff said, while a council member asked that potential WildCare funding be evaluated through social and voluntary services to ensure an equitable review process.
