By Megan Alley
Sun Reporter
Clermont County received two responses to its recent request for proposals from groups interested in taking over as the operator for the county’s animal shelter.
The county put out the RFP in the midst of its current negotiations with Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society, after the group asked for its three-year contract to be amended to provide a funding increase.
County officials, including County Administrator Thomas J. Eigel, were on hand for the proposal opening on Nov. 14.
Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society and Clermont to the Rescue, the previous operator of the county’s animal shelter, were the two groups that submitted proposals.
While in this instance, the Clermont County Board of Commissioners is not required to take any action on the proposals, Eigel said, “We’re going to do this pretty quickly; to come to some sort of determination.”
The county will now organize a committee to review the proposals. Eigel explained that such committees are typically made up of county staff, but said that they could “bring in people.”
The county’s RFP has nothing to do with the county’s current negotiations with Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society, Eigel explained
“This is a completely different situation,” he said. “It’s because, if the current group doesn’t fulfill the last year of the contract, which is 2020, we would have to have a backup plan for somebody to run [the shelter], so that’s the reason.”
On Nov. 29, 2017, the Clermont County Commissioners named Clermont Animal Compassion, Advocacy, Rescue and Educations the new operator of the county animal shelter.
The commissioners approved the non-profit as the shelter’s new operator for a one-year term – for the amount of $310,000 – with the option to extend the contract for an additional two years.
Clermont Animal CARE took the reins from the shelter’s previous operator, Clermont to the Rescue Humane Society, on Jan. 1, 2018.
Clermont Animal CARE’s contract says that the agency is to “provide dog warden services and the humane housing, care, feeding, destroying, and disposal of stray dogs in Clermont County,” according to earlier correspondence from Carolyn Evans, Clermont Animal CARE’s executive director.
The contracted services limit the operator’s service obligations to bringing in stray dogs, (no cats, no owner-surrendered dogs), and holding them for the legal 72-hour stray hold.
“It is the county’s responsibility to deliver these services to their constituents as outlined in [Ohio Revised Code] 955.01 to 955.26,” Evans wrote in an email. “Clermont Animal CARE merely contracts to provide these services on behalf of the county.”
Now, Clermont Animal CARE is asking the county to increase the contract funding to $599,846.
“Intake and lifesaving rates have never been higher in Clermont County. Animals are finally safe, and we are asking the county to pay a fair contract amount to ensure we can keep it this way,” Evans said. “We are asking for an increase of $289,846 … in funding from the county for 2020, bringing the contract to $599,846. It may sound like a lot, but it’s actually a modest request given that the shelter has been underfunded for decades.”
She added, “Our expenses in 2018 were $871,000. We are not asking the county to fund the entire operating budget. We are asking them to fund the contract for catch and kill services. We will pick up where their obligations leave off and add services and value for the people of Clermont County, but they need to step up and do their part.”
Mike Boehmer, Clermont County’s communications coordinator, earlier confirmed the details of the contract.
He then added that there isn’t a deadline for contract negotiations.
“We don’t want to put on a deadline as we continue to negotiate with the hopes of coming to a resolution,” Boehmer wrote in an earlier email.
Boehmer said in an earlier statement, “Clermont Animal CARE Humane Society is contractually obligated to provide services through 2020 under conditions of the current contract. We have been working with them for a month-and-a-half to potentially amend the terms of the contract. They want to double the size of funding, so we are seeking proposals for comparison in case efforts during negotiations fail to produce a mutual agreement. Just to clarify: Ohio Revised Code 955 only permits counties to care for dogs.”
When asked to respond to challenges from Clermont Animal CARE that the county isn’t providing adequate funding to meet the obligations set forth by the ORC, Boehmer responded, “We are meeting the ORC obligations. We will continue to work with [Clermont Animal CARE] to consider amending the terms of the contract.”