By Linda Dean Cooper

County Manager Mary Ellen Harper will ask at Tuesday’s regular BoCC meeting if there is a desire to schedule an Animal Services Strategic Planning Workshop for Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 1 p.m.  Below is a copy of County Manager Harper’s memo to BoCC concerning strategic plan for Animal Services Dept.:

To:                        The Board of County Commissioners

From:                   Mary-Ellen Harper, County Manager

Date:                    October 28, 2024

Subject:               Operational Consult Levy County Animal Services

I reported during the October 22, 2024, Commission Meeting that I put Animal Services Manager Rod Hastings on administrative leave on October 17, 2024, receiving a series of complaints. I further reported that I appointed Parks and Recreation / Mosquito Control Director Matt Weldon as the Interim Animal Services Manager and invited the University of Florida Shelter Medicine Program to conduct a full review of our shelter operations.

Cameron Moore from the University of Florida conducted the review of our shelter operations on October 24, and 25, 2024 as part of the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Program. Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge is a partnership between the University of Florida and University of California at Davis’ Shelter Medicine Programs, Team Shelter USA, and the Open Door Veterinary Collective. Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Program awarded Levy County Animal Services a pro bono consult in response to my request for assistance. Research was completed before the onsite visit that included a review of the Florida State Statute, local ordinances, historical statistical trends, record keeping, website and social media along with discussions with partner agencies. During the onsite visit, the consultant toured the shelter property and met with individual staff and the leadership team to learn more about the processes in place for both shelter staff and field services from the point of intake to outcome.

I received the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Report on October 28, 2024. The report, which is attached for your reference, contains a multitude of recommendations that cannot all be implemented simultaneously. I recommend that the Board of County Commissioners consider scheduling a Strategic Planning Workshop on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 1pm to consider, prioritize, and implement the goals and objectives recommended in this report.

I would like to facilitate this Strategic Planning Workshop in much the same way I recently facilitated the Affordable Housing Advisory Workshop. The workshop should include representation from every major interest group in our county. For this reason, I recommend a publicly noticed workshop to potentially include all of the Commissioners, all interested members of the public, and specific Board of County Commission Employees who have responsibilities that interface with Animal Services. The Animal Services Strategic Planning Workshop would ideally result in a three-to-five-year work plan that will guide the work effort of Animal Service toward a common set of goals and objectives.

A successful Strategic Planning Workshop will result in a plan for Levy County Animal Services to implement the recommendations in this report systematically. Organizations not engaging in strategic planning often fail to benefit from the evaluation and planning process. The recommendations within this report will do little more than exist in the report if not prioritized, assigned to specific individuals for oversight, and then implemented.

At this time, I am requesting feedback from the Board of County Commission on whether there is a desire to schedule an Animal Services Strategic Planning Workshop on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 1pm.

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The groundwork for a strategic plan started last week after Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida spent two days at Levy Animal Control reviewing the facilities and operations.  The result was a 38-page review of animal control facilities and current practices. The table of contents gives an outline of what that 38-page report contains.  It’s well worth the read.  

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Process
• Record Keeping, Technology, Statistics and Trends
• Website, Social Media, and Marketing
• Capacity for Care
• Hours and Staffing
• Field Services Population Management & Pathway Planning
• Admissions and Animal Intake Protocols
• Animal Handling
• Sanitation
• Canine Housing and Enrichment
• Feline Housing and Enrichment
• Medical Care, Disease Control and Surgical Programs
• Return to Owner (Dogs)
• Finder Foster, Foster on Deck & Transfer Partner Program
• Adoptions
• Volunteer Program
• Facility Design & Maintenance
• Moving Forward
• General Resource List

Hopefully, the BoCC will approve Harper’s request for a workshop at Tuesday’s regular meeting.  The animals and the taxpayers have waited a very long time for this, it is past time to fix this very broken department that has never served the animals in its care, nor the taxpayers.

Below is a PDF of October 28, 2024, Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Report:

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Posted November 3, 2024