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County works out funding agreement with Humane Society Clallam County, WA - 6/16/04 - It looks like weeks of negotiations are resulting an agreement that will allow the Clallam County Humane Society to keep its Port Angeles animal shelter open in exchange for helping the county with animal control. The Humane Society had told county commissioners earlier this spring that it needed to find another 40-thousand dollars or it would have to close the shelter. At first commissioners said the county didn’t have that kind of money. But continued negotiations between Humane Society leaders and County Administrator Dan Englebertson have resulted in a draft agreement that will give the agency at least part of that funding. Englebertson tells PNN the plan calls for the Sheriff’s Department to turn over all animal control duties over to the Humane Society. That includes duties like picking up strays and housing them at the shelter, although the county officers would still be responsible for cases where criminal charges are involved. Englebertson says the package includes revenue from licensing fees under the program the county established in 1998, amounting to about 20-thousand dollars, and then splitting a percentage of license fees above that level. Plus, he says the agency should realize some additional savings because it can run the enforcement operations cheaper than the sheriff’s department. The pact could be finalized by commissioners this coming week.
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