Portales council creates Animal Control Retention Fund to boost pay for officers

The Portales City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-26 on a proposal to establish an Animal Services Retention and Compensation Fund aimed at keeping animal control officers on the city payroll.

Kelly McClellan, the city’s community services director, told the council that animal-control staff were leaving because they could not afford to work for the city at current rates. She said the city’s most senior animal-control officer has two years of service and that most others have been with the department for less than six months, creating a costly cycle of hiring and training. McClellan said the fund would be built from non-punitive fees such as adoption, registration and permit fees and would be directed to field officers rather than supervisors.

“The current compensation levels are significantly below market rates for New Mexico,” McClellan said. She recommended a short-term increase to starting pay to $17 an hour for uncertified officers and $18.46 an hour for certified officers while the city pursues longer-term base-salary increases. McClellan said the department forecasts about $13,600 in relevant fee revenue for the year but estimated it would need roughly $26,028 to fully support the proposed short-term increases.

Councilors asked how the fund would be managed and whether certain fees—such as citations or surrender fees—would be included. McClellan stressed the fund would exclude punitive fines and citation revenue to avoid incentivizing enforcement actions and would not include surrender fees or money tied directly to animal-care reimbursements. “Officers have zero financial motivation to cite aggressively,” she said.

The resolution, which provides for collection, use and administration of the fund, passed on a unanimous roll call vote. McClellan said the measure is intended to reduce training and turnover costs, encourage certification and improve public-safety outcomes by retaining experienced officers.