After months of negotiating with the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority and the city of San Jose for animal care services, the council cast a 4-0 vote at its Jan. 21 meeting to pull out of the now three-member agency organization and contract with San Jose for services.

Councilman Stan Bogosian was absent from the meeting.

The decision to leave SVACA came four days before the extended Jan. 25 deadline and a month after the council agreed to stay with the organization provided that the town of Los Gatos would remain.

According to Los Gatos Mayor Steve Glickman, town council members decided to withdraw from SVACA at a Jan. 5 meeting because of financial and stability reasons.

"SVACA's field services have been excellent," Glickman said. "But, the future of the organization seems a bit uncertain. San Jose, on the other hand, appears to be more stable in terms of their facility. We're expecting the same level of service from San Jose."

The organization started getting shaky when Sunnyvale announced its withdrawal in September 2003. Cupertino followed suit soon after. To compensate for the loss in members, SVACA was forced to increase the remaining agencies' portions in operational fees and capital contributions that would go toward the purchase of a new 17,000-square-foot facility on Thomas Road in Santa Clara.

Under San Jose's plan, Saratoga would be paying $155,000 in operational fees, which is approximately $30,000 less than SVACA's proposal, with a maximum annual increase of 1.5 percent over a three-year period. In addition, Saratoga would pay a one-time capital contribution of $300,000 to cover the cost of expanding San Jose's 50,000-square foot facility. In contrast, Cupertino and Los Gatos will be operating on a per-animal contract.

"It's sad that we couldn't make SVACA work all together," said Saratoga Vice Mayor Kathleen King. "We've been pretty successful with it in the past. But we have to be really careful with our money considering the city's financial state. We're just trying to watch every penny."

Despite her feelings toward SVACA, King said she is optimistic that the city will be in good hands with San Jose.

Mayor Ann Waltonsmith also said she looks forward to working with the new agency.

"We made a good choice, not just financially, but also for the welfare of the animals," Waltonsmith said.