Sayreville council approves two-year animal-control contract; members ask for specific cost details

The Sayreville Borough Council approved a two-year contract for animal-control services (Resolution 2026-75) during its Feb. 9 meeting, following questions from council members about costs and the recent RFP process.

Council members said the previous contract had expired and an initial rollover cost was reported as prohibitive. The administrator said the vendor revised its proposal during the RFP review and agreed to lower incremental costs to reach an agreeable multi-year term.

When asked for dollar amounts, a staff member gave preliminary figures during the meeting: "I believe it’s 150 for '26. I believe it is 150 for '26 and 185 for '27," a council member recalled; another attendee confirmed, "That's correct." Council members requested that the exact contract figures be provided to the council before voting on related budget items in the future.

The contract was included on the consent/resolutions agenda and carried with the other resolutions on the roll call, though several council members registered 'no' votes on unrelated consent items (item numbers specified during roll call). The animal-control award was recorded as a two-year contract in the official resolution language.

Council members also raised questions about a separate agenda item that had been scheduled as a presentation but whose representatives did not appear. Admin staff confirmed the presenters were notified but did not show.

The council did not provide additional detail about service levels, enforcement changes or vendor identity during the public meeting; staff said contract language and final amounts can be shared with council members after the meeting.

Next steps: administration to circulate the contract text and confirmed cost breakdowns to council members for their records.