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Council supports exploring an operational JPA for Yolo County animal services
Summary
After a county presentation, West Sacramento's council voted to authorize a letter expressing interest in pursuing an operational joint powers agency to govern animal services, citing similar per-capita costs across models and limited immediate capacity among nonprofit partners.
The West Sacramento City Council on June 17 agreed to express interest in continuing discussions about forming an operational joint powers agency (JPA) for animal services in Yolo County after a staff presentation from county officials.
Doug Drose (deputy city manager) introduced Adam Fieseler, director of community services for Yolo County, who summarized the county's governance analysis. Fieseler said the county studied multiple models'status quo, operational JPA contracting with the county, nonprofit contracting, hybrid approaches'and compared per-capita costs across peers. "We are at about $22 per capita, and the median and average are right around $20," he said, summarizing the cost comparison.
Fieseler told council that responses to the county's recent request for information showed regional partners were generally not "shovel-ready" to provide immediate full sheltering and operational capacity; UC Davis submitted an interest letter but none of the respondents could immediately absorb all sheltering, veterinary or licensing requirements. He said the most efficient near-term option if cities want to pursue a JPA would be a model in which the JPA contracts with the county to provide services while the JPA provides shared governance.
Council questions focused on operational details that matter locally: whether a JPA would deliver a satellite office or improved local access, how shelter services would be staffed, and the cost implications of building or siting a new shelter. Council members underscored that West Sacramento residents frequently use nearby shelters and that the city should have a seat at the table if countywide governance decisions are made.
Council action: Following discussion and without public speakers on the item, council authorized staff to send a letter expressing the city's interest in exploring an operational JPA and agreed to continued engagement with county staff. The motion passed by roll call with the members present voting aye.
Next steps: County staff will return with more operational detail, including potential budget estimates and an outline of whether a JPA would include decisions on shelter location, satellite services and how member jurisdictions would share costs and governance authority. County staff committed to sharing additional data (call concentrations, cost breakdowns) to inform West Sacramento's deliberations.
