Levy County BoCC Press Release: Date of Issue: November 15, 2024
Levy County Animal Services is facing some significant challenges. The kennel is at full capacity, dogs are staying in the shelter longer than ideal, the kennel has some considerable maintenance issues, and the staff office has been deemed unsafe for human occupancy.
Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge, which is a partnership between the University of Florida and the University of California at Davis’ Shelter Medicine Programs, Team Shelter USA, and the Open Door Veterinary Collective, awarded Levy County Animal Services a pro bono consult in response to County Manager Mary-Ellen Harper’s request for their assistance in evaluating the operations of the shelter. The County received the Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge Report on October 28, 2024. As the report contains a multitude of recommendations that cannot all be implemented simultaneously, the Board of County Commissioners approved County Manager Harper’s request to schedule a Strategic Planning Workshop on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 1 pm to consider, prioritize, and implement the goals and objectives recommended in the report.
“I am a strong believer in transparency,” County Manager Harper said. “The everyday reality for Levy County’s Animal Services Staff and the animals they care for is often not pretty. But transparency requires sharing that information even when the community may not be happy with the details.” County Manager Harper added, “This Strategic Planning Workshop is an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to start having some of the difficult conversations that need to be had about the mission of Animal Services in Levy County, the limitations that exist because of the number of staff members assigned to the department, and costs that are associated with maintaining a shelter that is safe for both the animals and our staff.”
The Strategic Planning Workshop Schedule will be as follows:
1:00-2:00 Review of Mission, Vision, and Values
2:00-2:30 Development and Approval of Goals
2:30-3:00 Development and Approval of Objectives
3:00-3:30 Development of Timelines and Assignment of Task Coordinators
3:30-4:00 Animal Services Strategic Planning Workshop Closeout
What to Expect
Participants in the Strategic Planning Workshop will be assigned to specific Workgroups. These Workgroups will be asked to develop Goals, Objectives, and Timelines and identify Task Coordinators.
Workgroups
The Strategic Planning Team will be divided into three Workgroups: Public Relations and Marketing, Volunteer Program, and Facilities. Animal Services staff will address the administrative and clinical recommendations made in the Operational Consult separately.
Each workgroup will focus on developing Goals that, if successfully completed, will accomplish the Strategic Initiative. The smaller Workgroups facilitate deeper conversation, brainstorming, and discussion than the larger group allows. However, each small Workgroup reports to the entire Strategic Planning Team to “cross-pollinate” ideas and concepts, creating buy-in from the larger Strategic Planning Team.
Objectives
Once the Goals have been identified, the smaller Workgroups will develop measurable Objectives for each Goal. Again, these are reported to the entire Strategic Planning Team for refinement.
Timelines
Once the Initiatives, Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes have been identified, timelines will be established. The County Manager will facilitate the assignment of timelines to ensure a relatively balanced workload over the plan’s life.
Task Coordinator
This is the member of the Workgroup who will take the lead in coordinating the efforts to achieve a specific objective. For accountability, Task Coordinators will be county employees.
The Strategic Plan
The County Manager will then compile the workshop results and provide a Levy County Animal Services Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Ideally, this plan will be adopted and implemented.
“I am very much in favor of this Animal Services Workshop,” Commissioner Desiree Mills said. “I think we need and have needed it for a long time. I appreciate everything our Animal Services Staff does to care for the animals and run our shelter. They have a tough job. We need to make a plan to ensure our staff has the resources to properly care for the animals in our shelter both now and in the future.”
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Levy County Board of County Commissioners
Box 310, Bronson, Florida, 32621
Office: 352.486.5218
Email: levybocc@LevyCounty.org
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Posted November 15, 2024
