San Angelo City Council will hold a budget workshop after their regular meeting. Staff will present General Fund budget plans for a number of city departments.
The draft budget for Animal Services is $1,350,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. This is a $96,000 increase from the original budget for this fiscal year. It will be interesting to hear Shelter Chief Morgan Chegwidden's presentation to Council given San Angelo's ever increasing loose pet crisis. Morgan informed Council of a dog pack around the 2000 block of Bryant Blvd. in their last meeting. She did so in public comment (which Council may alter on Tuesday).
A separate capital improvement project for the Animal Shelter has lingered since April 2023 when the city received financing specifically for that renovation. Project complexity pushed finished construction back from January 2024 to April 2024.
Construction Manager Al Torres informed Council the project would be bid in May. That is yet to happen. The City's capital improvement plan shows a November 2024 completion date but that is hard to believe given the project is expected to take six months. Will it be finished by January 2025?
Below is CIP information from the city's website (beware the poor contrast resolution).
A screenshot of that page shows its unread ability:
I requested a custom PDF to see if that improved resolution and readability. The process took just over 15 minutes and the document received was dramatically better. See the print screen below:
City Council prioritized compliance with the Americans for Disabilities Act and staff have working hard on changes. Clear.gov needs to do likewise for the web based CIP document.
It remains to be seen if Council asks about shelter renovations while Morgan is answering operating budget questions. There are few signs that a strategic review is underway regarding Pets Alive/Best Friends Animal Society policies and "community sheltering" practices incorporated by Animal Services. An invitation to do so has been outstanding for years.
Update 7-16-24: Morgan did not appear before council during their budget workshop. Finance Director Tina Dierschke covered the $232,000 for temporary shelter facilities, saying they had previously been approved by Council.
The city plans to use federal COVID funds for the temporary shelter. Staff provided no updates on the timeline for either shelter renovation. This may be the slowest urgent renovation project in San Angelo history.
After October 1st the city will not take public comment for workshop meetings. Council approved staff recommended changes but passed on moving public comment to the end of City Council meetings.
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