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ELWOOD – The Elwood Common Council delayed voting on a proposed fee structure for adopting animals from the shelter on Monday.
The time until the December 6 meeting is intended to allow the subcommittee that developed the fee structure to meet once again to confirm pricing guidelines and establish the minimum and maximum number of special events to be held. reduced cost to encourage adoption of hard-to-place animals. . The subcommittee is made up of board members Todd Buckmaster and Linda Moore, as well as Kerry Kane and Vicki Savage from Heart of Hoosierland Humane Society.
“In a happy world, we won’t need to have these events,†Moore said.
The fee adoption program was suggested after city officials attempted at the October meeting to pass an order that would lead to the euthanasia of animals left too long at the shelter or piling up medical bills. greater than $ 1,000. City officials said taking care of stray and confiscated animals at the shelter was skyrocketing the city’s budget.
Following criticism that shelters without killing are the trend and that city officials had done little to try to raise funds for animal care at the shelter, council members agreed to try the fees. adoption and other fundraising strategies for at least eight months.
One of the tasks of the subcommittee is to develop a mechanism to set higher prices for more desirable breeds which would normally demand higher prices when sold in the market.
“You get a good, calm dog, you can get $ 100 easily,†Kane said. “A lot of people would pay more than that. A lot of people would expect to pay adoption fees anyway.
Savage said that while the shelter shouldn’t be making excess money, it should be allowed to take advantage of the higher value that certain breeds command.
“You want to give yourself the opportunity to make money where you can.”
There have been discussions about how the popularity of designer breeds at any given time would be established, as some come and go in fashion, an issue which city attorney Jeff Graham says needs to be firmed up because prices must be consistent.
Another point of discussion was free dogs for the elderly, an idea that Moore opposed.
“The adoption fees, in my opinion, should have been paid up front,†she said. “Personally, I didn’t want anything to be free. “
Rather than for free, seniors will likely be asked to donate at least $ 10 to adopt senior dogs, which are likely to be defined as 8 years of age or older.
To follow Rebecca R. Bibbs on Twitter at @RebeccaB_THB, or call 765-640-4883.
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