Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Leonard Vialpando
Department: Resilient Environment Division: Animal Care Division
Information
Requested Action
title
A. MOTION TO APPROVE Broward County Spay Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP) Agreement (Exhibit 1), in substantially the form proposed, for veterinarians to perform routine spay or neuter procedures on dogs and cats owned by eligible Broward County residents; authorize the Director of the Animal Care Division to make nonsubstantive changes and execute the Agreement and any necessary amendments with the designated veterinarians, for a total term of up to five and a half years, subject to the annual amount allocated for SNIP and review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney; and authorize the County Administrator or designee to take any administrative or budgetary actions necessary to implement the Agreement.
(County Administrator Monica Cepero and a member of the public pulled this item from the Consent Agenda.)
ACTION: (T-11:02 AM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Udine voted in the affirmative telephonically.
B. MOTION TO APPROVE Broward County Trap Neuter Return Program (TNR) Agreement (Exhibit 2), in substantially the form proposed, for veterinarians to perform routine spay or neuter procedures on community cats; authorize the Director of the Animal Care Division to make nonsubstantive changes and execute the Agreement and any necessary amendments with the designated veterinarians, for a total term of up to five and a half years, subject to the annual amount allocated for TNR and review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney; and authorize the County Administrator to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions to implement the Agreement.
(County Administrator Monica Cepero and a member of the public pulled this item from the Consent Agenda.)
ACTION: (T-11:02 AM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Udine voted in the affirmative telephonically.
C. MOTION TO APPROVE Broward County Relief Veterinary Services Agreement (Exhibit 3), in substantially the form proposed, for temporary veterinary services to ensure adequate staffing at the Animal Care Division (ACD); authorize the Director of ACD to make nonsubstantive changes and execute the Agreement and any necessary amendments with the designated veterinarians, for a total term of up to five and a half years, subject to the annual amount allocated for these services and review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney; and authorize the County Administrator to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions to implement the Agreement.
(County Administrator Monica Cepero and a member of the public pulled this item from the Consent Agenda.)
ACTION: (T-11:02 AM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Udine voted in the affirmative telephonically.
D. MOTION TO APPROVE Broward County Pet Licensing Agreement (Exhibit 4), in substantially the form proposed, for the sale of pet tags through licensed veterinarians; authorize the Director of the Animal Care Division to make nonsubstantive changes and execute the Agreement and any necessary amendments with the designated veterinarians, for a total term of up to five and a half years, subject to the fees in set forth in section 40.9 of the Broward County Administrative Code and review for legal sufficiency by the Office of the County Attorney; and authorize the County Administrator to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions to implement the Agreement.
(County Administrator Monica Cepero and a member of the public pulled this item from the Consent Agenda.)
ACTION: (T-11:02 AM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Udine voted in the affirmative telephonically.
body
Why Action is Necessary
Board approval is required to approve standard form agreements and delegate signing authority to the Director of the Animal Care Division.
What Action Accomplishes
Approves the SNIP, TNR, pet licensing, and relief veterinary services agreements in substantially the forms proposed, authorizes the Director of the Animal Care Division to make nonsubstantive changes and execute the agreements and any necessary amendments with veterinary service providers, and authorizes the County Administrator to set the rates for SNIP, TNR, and relief veterinary services.
Is this Action Goal Related
No
Previous Action Taken
None taken.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE RESILIENT ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE ANIMAL CARE DIVISION (ACD) RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTIONS.
SNIP and TNR:
Approval of Motions A and B permits ACD to enter into agreements with veterinarians to perform routine spay or neuter services on owned dogs and cats and community cats to reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats and improve the health of outdoor cats in Broward County.
On September 10, 2015, the Board adopted Resolution No. 2015-434, authorizing the creation of the Spay Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP) to reduce local pet overpopulation. SNIP provides Broward County residents with vouchers to receive spay or neuter services for their pets, through a contracted veterinarian, at no cost to the residents. Resolution No. 2015-434 also authorized the creation of the Trap Neuter Return Program (TNR). The resolution addressed the presence of community cats living in an outdoor environment, independent of human intervention. TNR allows for community cats to be humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to the location where they were captured.
The SNIP and TNR Agreements have been approved as to form by the Office of the County Attorney.
Relief Veterinarian Services:
Approval of Motion C permits ACD to enter into agreements with veterinarians for temporary veterinary services to ensure adequate staffing. Veterinarians will perform services in a back-up capacity during the periods of unavailability of the primary County veterinarians. Veterinarians’ responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, performing routine or other medically necessary examinations; prescribing and administering medications; and evaluating and examining animals that may be the subject of animal cruelty cases and making the appropriate recommendations. These services will be performed on an “on-call” basis.
The Relief Veterinary Services Agreement has been approved as to form by the Office of the County Attorney.
Pet Licensing:
Approval of Motion D permits ACD to enter into agreements with veterinary service providers to issue pet licenses in Broward County
A pet license is a rabies registration tag for a dog or cat that consists of a tag for the animal's collar or harness. The contracted veterinarians will issue the rabies registration tags designed by ACD. Veterinarians are required to complete the Pet Tag Registration Reconciliation Worksheet and submit it to ACD along with all required supporting documents monthly. After ACD receives each worksheet, staff will reconcile the data and submit an invoice to the veterinarian. Each veterinarian will then be required to submit the full payment to the County within 30 days after the date of each County invoice.
Pricing for pet licensing, including the fee that may be retained by the veterinarian is set forth in section 40.9 of the Broward County Administrative Code.
As the Board of County Commissioners has directed Animal Care to fully outsource the pet licensing program, veterinary partners may operate under a third-party agreement at the time an outsourcing vendor is chosen.
The Pet Licensing Agreement has been approved as to form by the Office of the County Attorney.
Source of Additional Information
Emily Wood, MSc, CAWA, Director, Animal Care Division, (954) 357-9752.
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
SNIP/TNR
The value of SNIP and TNR vouchers is specified in the agreements and the number available, therefore total expenditure is subject to the annual amount allocated in the Sterilization Trust Fund.
Relief Veterinarian Services
The compensation rates for relief veterinarians is specified by the agreement and is subject to the annual amount allocated in the Animal Care Division’s General Fund Budget.
Pet Licensing
There is no fiscal impact to approve the agreement for issuing Broward County pet licenses by authorized pet license sales agents.