PRESENTER: Presenter
Bryan Ruiz, Neighborhood Services Manager
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SUBJECT: Title
Approval of amendments to the agreement between the City of New Braunfels and the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area, Inc. and the associated budget amendment
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DEPARTMENT: Planning & Development Services
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of New Braunfels has partnered with the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area, Inc. (HSNBA), a local not-for-profit, to share administration and operation of various animal-related services for the community since 1980. Through the years, the City has entered into several agreements with HSNBA to coordinate on animal care services for the community, most recently updated in FY 2021. In 2023, the City and HSNBA discussed the continued community partnership. The proposed new agreement includes increased fees for animal intake, continued administrative costs (dispatch services), the creation of a City liaison, and biannual HSNBA presentations to City Council.
HSNBA has similar agreements with Comal County and the City of Marion, less the administrative costs, a liaison, and biannual presentations.
ISSUE:
HSNBA heavily relies on charitable donations and volunteers to accomplish their mission. HSNBA has continued to experience increased costs associated with vaccinations, population increases, personnel retention and recruitment, and general inflation. HSNBA and the City collaborated on these proposed amendments to begin to address these issues and better align recurring income and expenditures to ensure their financial solvency thru calendar year 2024.
The following is a summary of the proposed edits:
• Updating the term of the agreement
• Increased animal intake fee from $110 per animal to $210 per animal
• Restructuring the animal intake fee methodology from per animal, to a rolling 2-year average to better predict revenue/cost for service/budget on both sides
• Terminology, position/title, legal, and division name updates throughout
• The creation of a City liaison to attend HSNBA regular and budget meetings
• Allowing HSNBA to make biannual presentations to City Council
Updating this agreement as proposed is supported by Envision New Braunfels as follows:
• Action 3.35: Support local non-profits whose missions support the Comprehensive Plan goals
• Action 8.3: Foster opportunities for collaboration with local non-profits
Budget Amendment: As the caption states, the increased intake fee will require a budget amendment. Additional funds were incorporated into the proposed budget to support increased costs for these services, but not enough to cover the full annual impact. Therefore, the following budget amendment is recommended for City Council consideration.
From: Non-Departmental - Contingencies $100,000
To: Planning and Development Services - Operating Expenditures $100,000
FISCAL IMPACT:
As stated above, additional funding was incorporated into the FY 2024 Adopted Budget to support potential increases to the contract between the City and HSNBA; however, not enough to cover the full cost of the revised intake fee. With the budget amendment, there will be sufficient funds to cover the updated annual cost of this contract, which is approximately $480,000.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
The staff recommends approval of the amendments to the agreement.