Tri-City jurisdictions struggle over animal control

By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer

It turns out all six city and county jurisdictions in the Tri-Cities have a common challenge -- what to do about animal control in the coming years. But if the way forward is to establish a new partnership beyond Kennewick, Pasco and Richland's existing Animal Control Authority, such a partnership has yet to materialize.

In Benton County, officials may have to go back to the drawing board after thinking last week they could put a proposition before voters this fall that would raise property taxes for animal control service in the unincorporated areas.

"I don't think that ballot measure's going to go forward, no," Commissioner Jim Beaver said Monday.

The proposal would have let voters in November consider a 14-cents-per-$1,000 property tax increase to pay for the service. But Benton County Assessor Barbara Wagner said the county commission's plans for the ballot measure isn't viable because state law won't allow the county to propose a tax increase for just the unincorporated parts.

"You can't have two different levy rates ..., one if you're inside the city and the other if you're outside the city. That has to be the exact same amount," Wagner said.

If the county puts a proposition on the ballot, it would be for the entire county, she said. And a 3.1-cent tax increase, rather than a 14-cent one, would be adequate to cover the estimated $1 million cost of constructing an animal shelter and $200,000 annually to operate it, Wagner said.

Beaver acknowledged the ballot measure wouldn't pass if it couldn't just be for the unincorporated residents because no one in the cities would be willing to pay higher taxes for a service they're already paying for and getting from the cities.

Commissioner Max Benitz Jr. stopped short of Beaver's assessment that the ballot measure won't happen, but said County Administrator David Sparks was reviewing the taxing options and would report back to the commission next week.

If it turns out the county can't put the tax increase on the ballot as planned, the commission wouldn't have to rescind a resolution because there wasn't one, Benitz said.

"It was just a directive we asked our personnel to look into," he said.

The ballot measure was the latest idea the county has considered, after exploring for the past year the idea of building a new animal control shelter with West Richland to serve the city and county.

Many residents in the community consider animal control a dire need in rural Benton County, as well as rural Franklin County, because neither one has had a more comprehensive program than for the sheriff's offices or their contractors to respond to incidents of dangerous dogs.

The counties in recent years have met with and corresponded with the Tri-Cities several times to see if there was potential to partner with the Animal Control Authority. But so far, the cities and counties haven't found a way to do that.

"Their needs, they perceive them as much different from how we perceive our needs," said Stan Strebel, administrative and community services director for Pasco, who provides staff support to the Animal Control Authority.

If the ACA's service were extended into the counties, it would have to be in a way that didn't significantly change it, Strebel said. Trips to far reaches of the counties or dealing with escaped livestock wouldn't be consistent with the urban type of service it already provides, he said.

An arrangement that would make the most sense, Strebel said, would be one that covered unincorporated "doughnut holes" -- pockets of the county encompassed by the cities, such as the large area of Franklin County in west Pasco.

And the counties would need to amend their ordinances for those unincorporated urban areas to make the animal laws consistent with that of the cities, Strebel said.

Franklin County Commissioner Rick Miller said the cities indicated the cost for that kind of service would be at least $100,000 annually -- a prohibitive amount, even more so considering the $600,000 budget deficit the county has struggled with for much of this year.

Regardless of the past inability to find common ground on animal control, the cities in the past few days have made one more effort to explore the possibility of extending the partnership.

A committee studying options for building a new Tri-Cities Animal Shelter sent a letter to the counties and West Richland last week, offering once more to be partners in animal control.

"The ACA has proven to be an effective model for cost effective animal control services in our jurisdictions," the letter stated. "As we consider major capital improvements for our future, the time seems appropriate to entertain any proposals you might have regarding potential partnership."

The letter, signed by Kennewick City Councilman James Hempstead, chair of the committee, lacked details about how much participation would cost or what the service might look like.

Those details would have to be worked out, but it's worth exploring the other jurisdictions' willingness to be involved, he said.

"I just think it's always better to have one primary facility versus two facilities within our community," Hempstead said. "There's just some efficiencies getting there."

A study the ACA paid for earlier this year indicated the new shelter the Tri-Cities needs would be about twice the size of the existing facility at 1312 S. 18th Ave. in Pasco. The new facility could cost as much as $4 million to build, but likely less depending on final designs and real estate costs.

Benitz and Miller, chairmen of their respective commissions, both said they would look into the latest proposal by the cities.

But both counties also are pressed with finding new ways to pay for needs such as mental health and public health services and, in Franklin County, a new jail. Neither county commission has identified a suitable revenue source to pay for new animal control service.

Dave Weiser, city administrator for West Richland, said the city would consider the Tri-Cities' invitation, too, although he wasn't sure it could afford the cost of participating, either.

West Richland, which operates its own animal control program, in the next few months will decide on a plan to improve its shelter whether it includes partnering with Benton County, the Tri-Cities or none of them, he said.

"Now we're back to our original Plan A, but we're not excluding the possibility of a Plan B," Weiser said.

- Joe Chapman: 582-1512; jchapman@tricityherald.com

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Tuesday, Jul. 14, 2009

Tri-City jurisdictions struggle over animal control

By Joe Chapman, Herald staff writer