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Council authorizes SIAC payment amid audit and performance concerns, asks for continued compliance review
Summary
After reviewing a recent internal audit and persistent service complaints, council authorized payment of the FY25-26 contracted/invoiced amount of $641,880 to the regional animal services JPA (SIAC), while directing staff to continue a contractual compliance review for FY26-27 and to seek improved tracking and performance data from SIAC.
City staff presented a multi‑part update on SIAC (regional animal services), summarizing long‑standing resident complaints about response times, a reduction in door‑to‑door canvassing, and incomplete operational data tracking. An internal audit shared with the council identified budgetary practices that left execution gaps and recommended corrective actions.
SIAC leadership — present at the meeting — acknowledged historical shortcomings and described recent improvements under new interim management, including hiring additional animal control officers, reintroducing some canvassing activity, and plans to modernize CRM and dispatch software to capture full incident lifecycles. SIAC reported that in the last 12 months it intook 1,071 animals from Bellflower and handled 1,280 calls for service.
Council debated whether to withhold payment pending SIAC board action or additional evidence of compliance. The staff and the city attorney advised the council that the city is obligated to pay amounts under the existing executed contract. By motion the council authorized the city manager to pay the contracted/invoiced FY25‑26 amount of $641,880 and to continue contract compliance review for FY26‑27, with staff returning to council with recommendations. SIAC offered to waive interest on any accumulated amounts and reported that a commission‑approved budget for new CRM software will help provide better activity tracking going forward.
Council emphasized the importance of measurable, auditable performance data and asked staff to monitor SIAC’s implementation of corrective actions and software updates.
