Animal Control and Cost Issues

Last month, six cities in north Orange County decided to explore whatever advantage there might be in cutting ties with the county’s Animal Care Services and creating their own shared animal shelter. If they do go on their own, the decision would have obvious financial implications for the county shelter operation and the other cities it serves. But it would also mark a break from a decades-old trend of regional services in the county. Both are good reasons for being certain that the numbers add up before making a change.

While the county’s 34 cities zealously guard their individuality and right to self-determination in local issues, their operations and services to a great degree have been regional. They adopted that approach years ago because that they believe that it saves everybody money to avoid duplication of cost and services.

Many new cities have declared their independence by breaking away from county government to establish local control. They also have found it less costly to contract with county and regional services such as police, fire and library rather than establish their own departments.

Nineteen cities now contract with the county shelter for animal services. Other examples of regional services abound. For example, the county sheriff patrols 11 cities in addition to the unincorporated areas, and virtually all police agencies use the sheriff’s crime lab, jail and coroner’s operations.

Also, the county’s Health Department serves the cities. The county registration and elections office handles local elections for all but one city. The Orange County Public Library serves 24 cities.

One shared service that has been much in the news of late because of a debate over the extent of city representation on a governing board is county fire protection. Twenty-one cities contract for protection through the Orange County Fire Authority.

The six cities showing varying degrees of interest in setting up their own animal shelter are Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra and Placentia.

Although two actually had lower costs this year, they are concerned about future increases. One reason is the county’s complicated formula for sharing costs, and another is the possibility of added expenses to support construction of a new shelter proposed at the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station.

The cities decided to get a consultant’s opinion. They insist that that’s all they have done, emphasizing that they’re only studying the issue at this point. It’s certainly worth a look.

The last widespread study of regionalizing city services took place about five years ago after a change in a state funding formula and the county bankruptcy resulted in reduced library hours. The cities considered the costs of opening city libraries and decided they were better off staying with the county’s branch system rather than going off on their own.

In today’s growing urban area, some systems and operations have become more complex and expensive, making the economies of continuing a regional approach possibly even more attractive.

Cities no doubt have an obligation to provide residents with the best service for the least cost. If the current shelter study shows that the six North County cities indeed can provide the same level of animal control services for less money, they would be hard-pressed to do otherwise.

If nothing else, a thorough and objective study will be a good reality check to see if the efficiencies and economies found in the long-standing regional approach to city services still hold true.