Madison Heights partners with county to save on animal control

MADISON HEIGHTS — The Madison Heights City Council recently approved a resolution to contract with Oakland County for animal control services, a deal that will produce savings for the city.

The vote was unanimous and took place at the council’s regular meeting Oct. 10. The council approved a substitute motion by Councilman Mark Bliss that will pass the budget savings onto residents by way of a program reducing the costs of dog license fees, which are higher through the county, in some cases more than doubling. As an example, a one-year license for a spayed or neutered dog is currently $7 through the city but will be $15 through the county. The deal goes into effect Dec. 1.

Under the arrangement, the city’s in-house animal control officer will continue to work full time, as will a part-time assistant that helps care for animals at the shelter, located at the Madison Heights Department of Public Services, 801 Ajax Drive.

They will be joined by an animal control officer from the county, who will transfer dogs from the city shelter to the county shelter on a daily basis each week. The city will continue to hold any stray animals for at least one full day, in case the owner is looking for it. If the owner is not located, then the animal is taken to the county shelter in Pontiac. Both the city’s officer and the county’s officer will work together on animal hoarding cases, relocating affected animals to the county’s shelter due to limited space at the city’s shelter.   

Corey Haines, the deputy city manager and police chief of Madison Heights, said via email that since July, the city has paid the county more than $5,000 for animal control services.

“Without using the county as animal control, we have to sign a contract every year with Oakland County where the fees are set for holding animals on our behalf. These fees add up very quickly as the fees are charged by the day, and because there are minimum time frames that stray animals must be held before they can be adopted,” Haines said.

The new deal with the county will absolve the city of those fees. The deal also comes at no additional cost to the city since it was already offered by Oakland County to cities within the county, paid for by county taxpayers.

While residents will now have to purchase dog licenses through the county, the city clerk’s office will continue to facilitate that service through June 2023. The system will then transition online, with staff available at the city to help residents who might not have internet access. There will also be help available for low-income residents who may have trouble complying with the new fee structure.

City officials said they will be monitoring the new arrangement and how it’s received.

“The city is always looking for ways to be more efficient and cost effective,” said City Manager Melissa Marsh, in an email. “Upon our initial review, this program seems to be one of those that will accomplish both. We will be evaluating this program after the first year to make sure that animal control operations are in fact more efficient and cost effective. If so, we will make recommendations to City Council at that time.”

Bliss, the councilman who made the substitute motion that was approved, said his idea for the voucher program was inspired by a similar program he put together with the late City Councilman Robert Corbett for the Red Oaks Waterpark.

“Overall, I think utilizing Oakland County to effectively double our Animal Control Department makes a lot of sense. The only sticking point for me was the increase in license fees that we’d have to charge for the county, versus what we’ve always charged,” Bliss said via email. “With inflation already crippling our residents’ ability to afford everyday items like milk, beef and gas, any increase at all may make it less likely that residents will license their dog, creating significant unintended consequences.”

He said the substitute motion was simple enough in this case, preserving the agreement exactly as stated in the original motion, but with the caveat that any budget savings the city realizes would be made available for residents to keep the cost of dog licenses down to the level they’re at today.

“Staff will work out the details, but as soon as county licenses are required as part of this program (when it begins in December), we will immediately begin leveraging these projected budget savings to reduce the price of these dog licenses on a first come, first serve basis,” Bliss said.