Animal Control Advocates Fight On for Share of Town Budget

The library and education budgets, and the recently instituted animal control officer position cut have generated considerable heat in the 2011-12 town budget debates.

At last week's Town Council Public Forum, it was the president of STARS' turn to present the case for increased staffing levels for animal control.

Advocates like Marjean O'Malley favor maintaining former staffing levels at animal control, a public safety service in Stratford, and part of the police department.

These same advocates including O'Malley were stunned after learning that Mayor John Harkins had laid off one of three animal control officers several weeks ago.

"Someone needs to speak for a forgotten dept … " she said during the Forum, explaining, "This is place where people come to make a complaint and to report a missing pet …

"Stratford needs all three officers," noting that even three ACOs is understaffed in her opinion.

"... we have [had] three ACOs in a town that needs five ACOs …," she continued, citing supporting statistics on the service's historical usage.

But she wasn't finished.

"… we have a beautiful new building … and now you see a budget eliminating one position? …" It just doesn't make sense.

"... and this person is already laid off," she continued, "and animal control and residents are already feeling the effects ..."

Then O'Malley became specific, urging council members to "fill the part-time position that’s been put on freeze.

"… our ACOs are handling more than two times the animals and calls than other municipalities.

"Trust me, the new facility will fill up" with stray and lost pets, she added.

She then asked each of the Town Council members to restore the eliminated ACO position by returning the department's funding to its fiscal year 2011-2012 budget allocation, funds to keep the new animal control facility in Stratford fully staffed.

She received standing applause from many in the audience of more than 100 people including STARS members and friends, some in yellow jackets.

Afterward, she continued to emphasize statistics comparing Stratford's Animal Control expenditures and service with neighboring towns of similar population and facility size.  

"These other towns face the same financial issues as Stratford, yet their staffing and budgets are two or more times of what we have," she wrote to Patch.

"And Stratford handles two or more times the amount of impounds and calls out on the road as well as 4,000 visitors per year to the facility.

"All Animal Control here has asked for is to keep its three full-time ACO's and some additional support and money for supplies totalling $20,000 to maintain a new facility that will hold many more animals than the existing facility.

"Let us remember the larger facility was approved and built based on fact-based needs."

If Town Council members believe this is an important enough issue, then she hopes that they will strongly consider restoring animal control funding.

The Town Council must approve a budget within a month for the new fiscal year beginning July 1.

Complicating municipal revenue projections are uncertainties about state funding.

The state must also have a new budget in place by July 1.