TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute all necessary documents to accept and expend grant funding from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, for the purchase of a portable pet tagging machine and engravable pet identification tags; and
Increase appropriations in the General Fund (GF) in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PR) by $5,400. (District 5)
DISCUSSION
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine, Animal Care Services Bureau (ACS), submitted a grant application to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), in the amount of $5,400, for a portable pet tagging machine and engravable pet identification tags to be used to create engraved pet collar tags. Recently, ACS was notified of the grant award.
The portable pet tagging machine will allow ACS to create engraved pet identification tags that are worn on a pet’s collar and contain the pet owner’s information. In the event the pet becomes separated from its owner and is brought to the shelter, ACS can quickly identify and contact the owner in order to return the pet. Research conducted by ASPCA has shown that 90 percent of animals tagged at a shelter, including cats, retain their identification tags once they are released to their owners, which allows the animals to be reunited in the community instead of entering the shelter system. Currently, ACS charges a fee to microchip a pet when it is reunited with its owner. The pet identification tag is an extra layer of identification to assist in the process of reuniting a pet with its owner. The identification tags will be used on pets that are returned to their owner, as well as adopted pets and rescued pets brought to offsite adoption events. It is expected that in the first year, approximately 1,100 dogs and cats will be tagged before being returned to their owners.
The grant funding will provide for the cost of the portable pet tagging machine and a one- year supply of engravable pet identification tags. The identification tags will be made by ACS staff and volunteers and take very little time to create. After the first year, ACS will purchase additional identification tags, which cost about $1 each, through its annual operating budget. Because this amount is nominal, it is not contemplated that pet owners will be charged for this service.
This matter was reviewed by Deputy City Attorney Arturo D. Sanchez on March 15, 2016 and by Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on March 16, 2016.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
City Council action is requested on April 19, 2016, in order to enable the execution of the grant agreement in a timely manner.
FISCAL IMPACT
As the award of this grant is not currently budgeted, an appropriation increase in the amount of $5,400, offset by the revenue received from the grant, is requested in the General Fund (GF) in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department (PR). There is no local job impact associated with this recommendation.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
MARIE KNIGHT
DIRECTOR OF PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE
APPROVED:
PATRICK H. WEST
CITY MANAGER