The 'friendly' divorce

By Colin Riddle  

OCTOBER 30, 2011 10:35 a.m. (0)

It all comes down to the big bucks.

Spartanburg County is no longer willing to pay the new rates set by Spartanburg Humane Society and is looking for other places to take the nearly 4,000 animals found wandering the streets each year.

County officials believe the rate is too high.

The Humane Society increased its base price of $56,250 per month after the close of the fiscal year in June by $5,000. There had been no increase for four years.

The society notified the county of the increase in mid-April to begin being paid July 1.  The county continued to pay the old rates.

A second increase came after the state government increased Spartanburg’s stray holding period from three days to five days.

That amounted to an increase of nearly $17,000 a month or $9 per day.

Last Monday, the Humane Society closed the doors to strays brought in from Spartanburg Animal Control for that day to get the county’s attention.

The county paid the original fee the next day.

Then, society officials set a deadline of Oct. 31 for the county to start paying or stop bringing in strays. Spartanburg residents who find a stray could be affected by the ban as well.

"Strays are the county's responsibility.  It becomes a public safety issue and the county needs to help support the people who are bringing in strays," said Katie Freseman, director of communications for the humane society.

The animal welfare organization will continue to accept pets from people who can’t care for them any longer as well as strays from Greer and the city of Spartanburg, which are on different contracts.

Jeffrey A. Horton, county council chairman, believes the county will move on and seek other options.

“We’ll be looking at other options to get through this friendly divorce,” said Horton.  “We appreciate the humane society over the years but will be exploring new options.”

Options include creating partnerships with Cherokee, Union, or Greenwood counties as well as working with Spartanburg Animal Control, said James Nelson, director of animal control.

“We have to be ready to go.  We are reaching out to any and all,” said Nelson.

Sandy Christiansen, president and chief executive officer of the Spartanburg Humane Society, approached Horton and the council six weeks ago to speak about severing ties between the county and the Humane Society.

"We've had difficulty having any dialogue at all.  It's been startling to see how bad the communication has been," he said.

However, Christiansen said he is willing to find an agreement to best serve the animals and people of Spartanburg.

Since January, Spartanburg County animal control has captured 3,966 animals that have been released to the custody of the humane society.

The humane society has 355 kennels and accepts nearly 11,000 strays yearly.

The county funds one-third of the society’s budget, the remaining two thirds coming from donations and program revenue.

Without the support of the county, the humane society will begin focusing on programs for Spartanburg pet owners to solve animal problems in the community.

“Thirty-three percent of the money takes more than 33 percent of the time.  We can now focus our energy and resources on the bigger problems,” said Christiansen.

Adoption services will still be available and the society believes animals will still be plentiful, said Freseman.

The humane society offers vaccination clinics, a wellness clinic, adoption services, and the county’s lowest rates for spay and neuter surgeries.

Also, educational programs and volunteer opportunities are available.

The humane society will now be able to focus on other services provided such as medical and educational programs, which Christiansen believes to be the bigger picture.

County officials hope to find what they believe to be the best value for their dollar.

“We’re looking for the best bang for our buck and to find a fair price for the services provided,” said Horton.

However, Christiansen believes the rates are on par with surrounding communities and bigger cities such as Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston.

“I suspect they’ll get out there and find other options to be more expensive,” said Christiansen.

He believes the rates are actually lower than surrounding counties when comparing the number of animals received and the dollar amount of their budget.