HomeMy WebLinkAboutPD-109-92
THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
ON: ANIMAL.GPA
General Purpose and Administration Committee
Date:
Monday, May 4, 1992
File #
Res. # h/I1-~55~92J
#
#: PD-109-92ile #:
ANIMAL CONTROL AFTER HOUR SERVICE
respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and
Administration Committee recommend to Council the following:
1. THAT Report PD-109-92 be received for information; and
2. THAT Dr. Wendy Korver be advised of Council's decision.
1. BACKGROUND:
1.1 As of January 1, 1992, the Animal Control Centre after hour
service has been terminated due to mounting cost of
overtime.
1.2 This matter was further deliberated by Council during the
budget process and it was confirmed that there will be no
after hour service for Animal Control.
1.3 At its meeting held on April 13, 1992, Council considered a
correspondence from Dr. Wendy Korver of the Bowmanville
Veterinary Clinic and referred the matter to staff for a
report. Copy of the said correspondence is attached.
2 . COMMENTS:
2.1 To assist Council to understand the cost implication of call
out after hours, the following statistics for 1991 are
provided herein:
. . .2
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REPORT NO.: PD-109-92
PAGE 2
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
Frequency of call-outs
Sunday and Holiday hours
Other hours
Total hours
Overtime Paid (Sunday & Holidays)
Overtime Paid (Other Hours)
Total Overtime Paid
182
190 hours
356 hours
546 hours
$5,783.60
$8,127.58
$13,911.08
2.2 In addition to the above, the Animal Control Officers are
required to work 3 hours on Sundays and holidays to feed the
animals and clean the pound. The overtime pay for this is
$4,748.64. This cost, however, is not related to the issue
of after hour call-out.
2.3 There is also a $20.00 standby pay to the on-call Animal
Control Officer, representing $7,300.00 annually.
2.4 Of the 182 call-outs last year, less than 10 calls resulted
in an injured animal required to be brought into local vet
clinics for treatment at a total cost of $600.00 as the Town
is responsible for treatment and drug fees. There was no
recovery of this amount as these injured ariimalswere
abandoned by their owners.
2.5 In summary, the cost to the Town for after hour service in
1991 was:
Overtime Pay
Standby Pay
Vet Services
Total
$13,911.
$ 7,300.
$ 600.
$21,811.
2.6 Since call-outs resulting in having to bring an injured
animal to the Vet Clinic for treatment is infrequent, it can
be argued that perhaps the Town.could provide call-out
service only in this type of situation, and presumably
. . .3
573
REPORT NO.: PD-109-92
PAGE 3
reducing the cost of having to answer all other after hour
calls. However, reality is that there is no sure way for
the Animal Control Officer to ascertain the true nature of
the call until the officer arrives on site to determine
whether or not the call is related to an injured animal.
False alarms or incorrect information conveyed to the
Officer are not uncommon. In addition, answering calls for
injured animals does not eliminate the substantial cost of
paying the employee for standby duty.
2.7 Between the month of May and November each year, the Animal
Control Officers perform shift work duty to 8 p.m. during
weekdays. Although this would not alleviate Dr. Korver's
concern, it does provide extended hours for six (6) months
of the year.
3 . CONCLUSION:
The real issue here is the level of service the Town could
afford without raisi~g taxes. Council in it's budget
deliberation, has decided not to provide after hour service
for the current year. Staff suggest that once the budget is
J
set, it should not be revisited so as not to erode the
integrity of the budget process.
Respectfully submitted,
Recommended for presentation
to the Committee
Franklin
Director of Planning
and Development'
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Lawrence E. ~ot~eff
Chief Admini$tr~tive
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Off lcer /
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*Attach
23 April 1992
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COUNCIL DIRECTION
\\'n~~-\j\B~~~~_terinary C .
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"Sharing Your Caring
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Tel. (416) 623.4431
Fax: (416) 623.1309
G.S.T. # R121813489
R 1 00609528
January 30, 1992
Mrs. Diarie Hamre
Mayor
40 Temperance st.
Bowmanville, Ontario
LIe 3AG
Dear Mrs. Hamre:
It has come to our attention that the recent decision by the
'{'own of Newcastle to withdraw the after hours emergency service
of the Animal Control poses ~ serious problem to the general
public and to the welfare of the animals in this area.
With the withdrawal of this service there is an increased risk of
physical. injury to police officers, firemen and members of the lay
public who attempt to handle injured animals found wandering or
laying at the roadside. These people are not trained in the
techniques for safe handling of animals. r{,lLe--P-Qt.e~t1..al for----P-EJ:-.a
to be left injllfed and llnattended is greater now that the Animal
C () II t: r 0 1 L> e r !J () 111\ C! I il r (~ II () LOll (' d I I .
We realize the economic conditions of these times require that
cutbacks be made in the budget, and that deciding where to cut
back funding is a difficult task. We do not understand the
reasoning behind putting the public and their pets at risk as
as a result.
The process of caring for stray and injured animals previously
began with the Animal Control collecting the animal, assessing the
physical condition and deciding if veterinary care was indicated.
Once the veterinarian examined the animal he/she would confer with
the Animal Control officer as to the question of ownership and
responsibility. IE an animal was considered to be a stray then
the Animal Control officer was required to decide it the medical
care was to IJe continued or not, with the bill being forwarded to
t: h e Town () f N e v!c as tIe.
'!'lIe present system does nol: (jive the veterinarian any guidelines
L 0 follow r e y a uj in (} s t ray san d [J u t s the 0 nus 0 n h i HI/ her to
a b so r b a 11 L 1\ e co s L 5 for t rea till CJ a 1 1 s t ray s . 'I'll ere 1 a t i ve
t r e que n c y 0 t a 5 i I: II a l: ion a r I 5 I 11 q r e qUI r I I HJ t t \ eve t: e r i n a ria n to q i v (~
lite savinq, efllerq(~ncy t:redt.I1I(~rlt: 1:0 stray animals happens
() n a n a v era q p () r e) i ll~ eve r y l:\'IO flIe) n t II~; .
575
:
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May we suggest that the Animal Control officers be required to
pick up only injured pets after hours to cut down on the costs
incurred by the town. They can have the person making the
call to them visually assess the condition of the animal and
respond accordingly.
The veterinary hospitals are willing to waive the customary $37.00
emergency fee charged for after hours service. Also, for animals
deemed to be suffering or too severely injured to warrant extensive
treatment a flat fee of $10.00 would be charged for euthanasia. If
the veterinarian and Animal Control officer decide to treat an
animal then a charge 'of $60.00 per hour plus drug costs would be
billed to the town.
If the owner of an injured animal.brought in by the Animal Control
officer comes forward while the animal is still in the hospital
then the hospital would request that the owner pay all costs
incurred. This means the town would only have the cost of the
wage payable to the Animal Control officer to absorb. On the
other hand, if the owner comes forward after the treated animal
has been released to the pound again, then the town would be billed
for the veterinary costs at the rates indicated above.
We would be happy to present the suggestions contained in this
letter to Town Council at their next me~ting.
Thank you very much for your time.
Yours Sincer(:l ,
'\ .
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0(\-,- ~\ "''' ,,-~
W. ~\Cver D.V.M.
S. Azulay A.H.T.., Manager
~Add;r
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cc Patti Barrie, Town Clerk
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576