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Animal services talks with San Jose, other cities end
Alternative solution must be found
By Nathan R. Huff
South Bay cities may have to find alternate solutions to a proposed countywide program for animal-control services. Nine months of negotiations among West Valley municipalities--including San Jose, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga--recently collapsed over the issue of program control.
San Jose, which would fund the lion's share of any countywide program, has insisted on holding the majority of votes on a proposed joint powers authority. The authority would be responsible for building a shelter and providing animal-control services. Several of the smaller municipalities expressed reluctance to give complete control over their services to San Jose.
The impetus for the recent talks comes from a new state law that lengthens the minimum time stray animals must be held by agencies like the Humane Society, which currently contracts with all of the cities in question.
The Humane Society must expand dramatically to comply with the law or euthanize adoptable animals to make room for others, whether or not they're adoptable. The cities' contracts with the Humane Society expire in 2001.
According to Monte Sereno City Manager Brian Loventhal, control over the voting structure led to ending the negotiations. "San Jose wanted the majority of voting power over everything, which would include amending the agreement, and that worried the smaller cities," Loventhal said.
Also at issue is the type of service that would be offered by a centralized animal-control program. Cities now respond differently to animal-related issues. Monte Sereno police officers, when they have nothing more pressing to do during the day, respond to complaints like barking dogs, Loventhal said. Meanwhile, Saratoga City Manager Larry Perlin said his city sends a city code officer to investigate such complaints. In San Jose, a form letter is sent to the dog owner.
Los Gatos Town Manager Dave Knapp said that several cities believed that because San Jose would do the majority of the work and provide a location, "they would be the 500-pound gorilla and essentially call most of the shots."
Speaking for Los Gatos, however, Knapp said the town is comfortable with San Jose selecting the direction of the program. He added that Los Gatos could possibly contract with San Jose if it ends up providing the services on its own.
The eight smaller cities also have begun to study the feasibility of building their own shelter separate from whatever San Jose decides to do. Perlin said that, "if San Jose decides to go on their own and refuse to enter a joint powers authority or contract out their services, we would need to look at alternative options, including building a separate facility."
Perlin said Saratoga spends between $60,000 and $70,000 annually for animal services through the Humane Society. Monte Sereno spends $4,000 per year, and Los Gatos tops the list of cities at $80,000 per year.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
