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Fremont council presses for clearer animal-control reporting from Forever Homes
Summary
Council members criticized late and hard-to-read animal-control reports from contractor Forever Homes and asked staff to provide breakdowns showing which animals the city is responsible for; the council voted 7–0 to receive the October report and seek clearer data.
The Fremont City Council on Jan. 13 pressed staff for clearer animal-control reporting after receiving an October report from contractor Forever Homes.
Councilman Horner said the reports arrive late or are inaccurate and asked when the city could expect reliable, timely information. "This is a continual issue almost ever since I've been on council that these reports come in either late or they're inaccurate," he said, adding that the contract and ordinance require timely reports and that council needs to understand which animals are in city care.
City Administrator Jody Sanders said Forever Homes is a no-kill nonprofit that provides sheltering services for a set fee rather than on a per-animal basis, and suggested police custody reports might better reflect animals for which the city has direct responsibility. "Forever Home is providing the city a service for a set fee that is ... not related to the number of animals or the length of the time that the animals ... might be there because they are, in fact, a no kill shelter," Sanders said. She recommended council consider whether a separate police report on animals taken on the city's behalf would be more useful.
Other council members said they wanted a clearer breakout in future reports that separates animals taken into shelter custody on the city's behalf from routine shelter intakes and explains extenuating circumstances when animals remain in care long-term. Councilwoman Gannon, a member of the animal-control committee, said legal review is under way and the committee will bring more-detailed reporting soon.
After discussion the council voted 7–0 to receive the report. The motion to receive the report was made and seconded during the meeting; no formal policy change or penalty was taken at this meeting.
The council directed staff to return with clearer, delineated reporting that shows the city's direct intakes and explains extended holds or special circumstances.
