Asked to contribute even more money to compensate for the financial losses brought about by Cupertino's plans to depart, at least one of the remaining agencies is questioning whether it still makes sense to commit dollars to SVACA.

"Don't read into this ... we are doing our due diligence. No decisions have been made," said Los Gatos Vice Mayor Steve Glickman, who requested town staff to compare the cost of staying in SVACA as a member to the cost of simply contracting with the organization.

Early cost estimates provided by SVACA suggest that Los Gatos should kick in $286,000 annually for the next 15 years to remain in the organization. According to the town's finance director, Stephen Conway, this covers the cost of animal field services and the repayment on a 15-year loan for SVACA to build its new animal shelter.

The city of Saratoga has not decided whether to follow the actions taken by Los Gatos to look at contracting fees, but the matter will be before the city council at its Oct. 1 meeting. According to Assistant City Manager Lorie Tinfow, Saratoga will be asked to contribute nearly $242,000 each year for 15 years.

"If the early numbers don't pass the initial smell test of the council, we might do what Los Gatos is doing. That's a very big step. That shakes further confidence in the Joint Powers Authority," said Saratoga Councilman Stan Bogosian.

When the JPA--the agency that created SVACA--was formed in July 2000, it consisted of the town of Los Gatos and the cities of Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Campbell, Santa Clara, Cupertino and Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale pulled out of SVACA earlier this year, and Cupertino will be out by summer 2004.

"A JPA is worth something extra. It's worth something extra to have cost control," Bogosian said. The JPA was initially formed to provide the member cities with a governing board that would decide how to provide field service and shelter for the animals.

"It all boils down to whether we want to look at it short term or long term," Bogosian said. "My gut tells me we're going to pay more in the long run by not remaining in the JPA."

The third West Valley city, Monte Sereno, has not indicated that it will consider alternatives other than those that SVACA has proposed.

According to Tinfow, Monte Sereno has been asked to provide almost $69,000 for the building of a proposed shelter in Santa Clara. Unlike the other cities that are considering financing their portion of the cost, Monte Sereno may pay off its share in full, she said.

In addition to the cost of building a shelter, the city must consider what it will pay for field services. That cost for the current fiscal year could not be obtained by press time, but the city paid roughly $7,000 during the 2001­02 fiscal year, according to an independent analysis conducted by Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Los Gatos in 2002.

"The challenge right now is that all cities are going through a budget crisis. There are a lot of uncertainties. During uncertainty, it's even more important for all cities to stay together," said Monte Sereno Councilwoman Barbara Nesbet.

"We are definitely committed to remaining in SVACA," she said.

Member cities have until Dec. 31 to decide whether to remain in SVACA. Once they commit to staying, they will have to pay their full portion of the money to build the new shelter even if they decide to withdraw from the organization in future years.