Kudos to concerned citizens who
’ve been howling in protest over the county’s decision to close
the San Martin Animal Shelter on Mondays.
Kudos to concerned citizens who’ve been howling in protest over the county’s decision to close the San Martin Animal Shelter on Mondays.
The decision, made by Santa Clara County Supervisors on the recommendation of county Agriculture Commissioner Greg Van Wassenhove, looks like the classic government bureaucrat move of making cuts not where they’re most needed, but where they’re most visible.
In this case, the cuts will impact the health and welfare of animals and will affect the residents trying to find lost pets or adopt animals in need of a good home.
Van Wassenhove says the move to cut 1.5 vacant positions will save the county $90,000 a year. But those are unfilled positions that the county is not spending a dime on as it is, so any savings are only on paper.
Second, the shelter has been operating without employees filling those positions and managed to stay open Mondays, volunteers say, so the closure makes even less sense.
Third, shelter officials say the Monday closure will lead to less revenue, due to fewer animal adoptions, and to more animals being put to death, for the same reason. That’s the third strike against this ill-advised decision.
For the sake of his two- and four-legged constituents, we hope County Supervisor Don Gage will revisit this decision.
While he’s at it, we urge him to meet with Morgan Hill and Gilroy officials to review streamlining animal control services. Surely by not duplicating efforts, by working together, we can reduce costs and increase services to South County. Animals don’t respect borders, and our animal control services need to recognize that and realize operational efficiencies at the same time.
Gage wrote a letter to the editor in January 2004 touting a county animal needs assessment study that was underway at that time. It was expected to address the need to expand the San Martin Animal Shelter; instead, 18 months later, we have this disturbing decision to reduce services.
If the county needs to trim its agriculture commissioner’s budget by $90,000, we’re sure there are better ways to do it than by closing the shelter on Mondays and using the paper savings of cutting vacant positions. We’d also like to see serious talks between Morgan Hill, Gilroy and the county about streamlining animal control services to reduce cost and increase service to South County residents.
Make a difference: Call Gage at 299-5010, or send e-mail to [email protected] and let him know how you feel about the decision to close the San Martin Animal Shelter on Mondays.
