County has no business in animal control

Yuma County residents beware. I, as was everyone else that I talked to about the subject, was totally astounded with the front page article in the Jan. 23 Yuma Sun, “County mulls running own dog pound.”

Do the county supervisors think their constituents are stupid? Or are they hoping that we have a short memory and won't remember what happened in June 2011? That we won't remember that the city accountant, who had no clue on how to run an animal shelter, made a proposal to the city council that the city could take over animal control for $300,000 a year, when the HSOY was seeking $505,000. Is it possible that we won't remember that on June 2012, animal control came before the council asking for $770,000 because they could not do it for any less? A half million dollars more than the bill of goods they sold the council the previous year and a quarter of a million more than what the HSOY had requested.

Do they think we wouldn't notice that the HSOY contract for every municipality was for 24/7 service, while the city took six months before it would cover weekends and even now they do not respond 24/7? Do they think we wouldn't notice the ad in the newspaper for volunteer animal control agents?

I am disgusted, as should the rest of the Yuma County residents be, that the county supervisors want to put a band-aid on the pet overpopulation problem and not help to solve it. Do they really think that adding an inadequate facility to house more animals is going to lower the taxpayer responsibility? How dumb do they think we are? The only way to lower the taxpayer responsibility is to reduce the number of animals entering the facility, not a second facility.

When on tour at the HSOY, they stated they had performed more than 16,000 spay/neuter surgeries since 2008. Multiply that by six (average number in one litter) and that multiplies out to 96,000 puppies/kittens that have not been born. They stated they were able to accomplish this only through the use of grants and donor dollars. NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS/assistance had been provided from the municipalities to help solve this problem. The HSOY reduced their animal intake from over 12,000 to under 9,000.

Did the county supervisors miss the meeting where the HSOY spoke stating they had returned more than $250,000 in licensing fees in 2011, reducing the cost of services to the taxpayer?

The HSOY reduces the pet intake by 3,000 animals and returns more than $250,000 in fees; hmmm, it doesn't take a math wiz to figure out that this is saving taxpayer dollars WITHOUT the assistance from the entities that profess to be wanting to save us taxpayer money. The new HSOY facility was built with donor dollars to replace the old inadequate facility. Why would the county supervisors want to build an inadequate facility, less than two miles from this new, healthy facility, with 1.5 million in taxpayer dollars? Why not use that money to solve the pet overpopulation problem, not band-aid it, and reduce the cost to us, the taxpayer?

Also, I would like to ask the constituents in District 3 who voted to put Russ Clark, a Tea Party Republican, into office, “How is it that he can spearhead this ill-thought-out endeavor?” I was under the impression that he was against government taking over businesses when the services could be provided by a private entity. Am I to understand that he told the voters of District 3 just what they wanted to hear so that he could get into office? Is that what the Tea Party is all about, big government?

It doesn't make sense that the county supervisors would seek to work against an organization that has been working to resolve the pet overpopulation problem and save the taxpayer money. Again, something they profess to be doing, while the HSOY has actually done it. They are either making decisions using erroneous, incomplete information or they want to extend their governmental reach. Either way, they are doing a disservice to us, the taxpayer, their constituents.

Come on county supervisors, help fix the problem and stop trying to increase the size of government. County residents take note, these are our taxpayer dollars they are talking about spending.

G.J.Woodard

Yuma