Title
Report regarding a resolution authorizing the City Manager or authorized designee to execute an amendment to the agreement with the County of San Mateo for continued provision of animal control services for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2026, and not to exceed $578,816 for Fiscal Year 2026-2027. (Tony Pinell, Police Captain)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an amendment to the agreement with the County of San Mateo (County) for continued provision of animal control services for a three-year extension beginning July 1, 2026, not to exceed $578,816 for FY 2026/27.
Body
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Animal control has been one of the longest running regional/shared services in San Mateo County. Since 1952, the County has contracted with the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS) for animal control field and sheltering service. All 20 cities in the County have in turn contracted with the County for these services. Historically, cities have taken advantage of the economies of pooling resources in order to realize lower costs for services than each city could likely achieve by providing its own services.
PHS provides animal control services in a County-owned 45,000 square foot building at 12 Airport Boulevard in San Mateo. The mandated animal control service functions, which occur at the Airport Boulevard facility, include receiving and housing stray animals; serving as the location for the public when looking for lost pets or surrendering animals; sheltering animals; spay/neuter clinic; and vaccination clinic. For public convenience, licensing, micro-chipping, veterinary care and animal behavior work, and field services staff are at this location and respond to calls for service in the community.
On January 5, 2021, the County released a request for proposals to 71 organizations for an Animal Care, Control and Shelter Services Contractor serving San Mateo County. Two contractors submitted proposals on February 18, 2021 (Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA and Partners in Animal Care & Compassion/Pets in Need).
On March 4, 2021, a review committee composed of nine reviewers, including a Deputy County Manager, a San Mateo County Fiscal Officer, five reviewers from various San Mateo County cities, and subject matter experts from Los Angeles and San Bernardino evaluated the proposals. The evaluation determined that both proposals were acceptable; however, Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS) scored higher overall.
Contract negotiations with PHS started March 24, 2021. The negotiating team included the County Manager, County Counsel, the County Animal Control Manager, and six city representatives. Negotiations were amicably concluded on April 3, 2021, with the following agreement:
Animal Control services provided by PHS by contract will conclude on June 30, 2026, however there is a clause in the contract that reads as follows:
4. Term
Except as otherwise provided herein, and subject to compliance with all terms and conditions, the term of this Agreement shall be from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026. The parties may extend the term for an additional three years if the parties mutually agree in writing. This Agreement becomes effective only after all jurisdictions identified on Exhibit D as Participating Cities adopt it by entering into the agreement for animal control services between the County and participating cities. If such County/Services Agreement is not adopted by all jurisdictions shown on Exhibit D, this Services Agreement is null and void in its entirety unless Contractor and any of the jurisdictions shown on Exhibit D agree to use it as the basis for a Services Agreement applicable to those parties providing such written consent, with such changes in payment, scope of service, and other terms as the parties may agree.
The County has met with the President of PHS, and both parties agree to extend the Animal Care and Control Services contract for another three years until June 30, 2029.
As the Council will recall, the PHS contract was developed in concept and reviewed by a working group of County Managers, City Managers, and other interested city participants (e.g., personnel from some Police Departments). The San Mateo County City Managers Association (SMCCMA) has also established a standing committee to do an in-depth review of the contract, performance audits, cost sharing formulas, and strategic direction for provision of countywide animal control services. The SMCCMA committee was directly involved with the County during contract negotiations and had a seat at the table with PHS and the County hammering out the final outcome.
The contract has performed effectively, providing the cities with reliable animal control services and significantly reducing the number of complaints compared to previous years.
Provisions of the Amendment:
The following modifications are proposed, as outlined below:
• Payments to the Animal Control Contractor. In Section 4.1.a, the amounts paid by the County to the Animal Control Contractor and reimbursed by the Cities for Fiscal Years 2021-2026 would be extended for Fiscal Years 2026-2029 as shown in the table below. This is less than a 3% increase a year for the contracted animal control services.
|
Fiscal Year |
Amount |
|
2021-22 |
$6,189,290.95 |
|
2022-23 |
$6,327,480.28 |
|
2023-24 |
$6,499,455.67 |
|
2024-25 |
$6,674,024.00 |
|
2025-26 |
$6,858,739.01 |
|
2026-27 |
$7,037,138.11 |
|
2027-28 |
$7,220,177.44 |
|
2028-29 |
$7,407,977.72 |
• Contract Fees. In Section 4.1.b, the fees from Fiscal Years 2016-2021 would remain the same through 2027 as shown in the table below.
|
Current Contract 2022-2027 |
Amount |
|
One year license |
$4.28 per license |
|
Multi-year license |
$4.28 for the first year and $2 for each additional year |
|
Late fees collected |
$2.50 collection service fee for each license |
|
Replacement tags |
$4.28 per tag |
|
Bank and supply fees |
Actual cost |
• Costs for Administrative Services. In Section 4.2, the administrative costs for Fiscal Years 2016-2021 would be extended through Fiscal Years 2026-2029 as shown in the table below.
Section 4 County Responsibilities under 4.2 of the agreement is amended to read as follows:
|
Fiscal Year |
Amount |
|
2021-22 |
$790,835 |
|
2022-23 |
$790,375 |
|
2023-24 |
$814,086 |
|
2024-25 |
$822,227 |
|
2025-26 |
$846,894 |
|
2026-27 |
$872,301 |
|
2027-28 |
$898,470 |
|
2028-29 |
$925,424 |
• Performance Audit. Section 4 County Responsibilities under 4.3.j would be removed from the agreement. This section was to arrange a performance audit or fiscal assessment of the Animal Control Contractor PHS. After the County released an RFP in January to find a vendor to perform an audit of PHS, the County proposed to remove this requirement because it would not be fiscally responsible to turn around within three years and conduct another audit within three years. Instead, the County proposes to wait until the new contract in 2027 and include the requirement in the new contract.
• Term. Section 5.8 would be modified to extend the duration of the agreement through June 30, 2029.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City of South San Francisco’s estimated share of the total contract for FY 26-27 is 8.56%, which calculates to $578,816, with the percentage shares for each city revisited annually. The number of service calls and sheltering animals generated by each city is tracked, and the average of the last three years’ data is used to set the upcoming costs for member Cities and for the County. Each city’s (and unincorporated County) three-year average usage data is weighted 41% for field services and 59% for shelter services. The percentage cost share for each member agency is summarized below:
City Distribution Percentage
Atherton 0.99%
Belmont 2.96%
Brisbane 0.69%
Burlingame 3.92%
Colma 0.41%
Daly City 9.77%
East Palo Alto 9.07%
Foster City 2.86%
Half Moon Bay 1.76%
Hillsborough 1.10%
Menlo Park 5.33%
Millbrae 2.14%
Pacifica 4.30%
Portola Valley 0.51%
Redwood City 12.04%
San Bruno 5.41%
San Carlos 2.94%
San Mateo 14.92%
South San Francisco 8.56%
Woodside 0.98%
County 9.34%
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES ACTION PLAN
Approval of the extension to the shared county-wide Animal Control Services contract supports the Major Focus Area of Modern and Sustainable Organization by realizing lower costs for services than South San Francisco could likely achieve on its own; and the Major Focus Area of Quality of Life by providing resources for residents to adopt, license, and care for pets.
CONCLUSION
Animal control services are highly specialized, require the ability to quickly deploy trained animal control officers in case of emergency, necessitate having a well-equipped brick and mortar facility to treat and house animals, the provision of veterinary and euthanasia services, requires stabilized vehicles and equipment, and involves a host of other operational and administrative needs which it would be difficult and costly for South San Francisco to provide independently. Joining the other cities in the county by extending the current contract for an additional three years is a cost-effective way to provide shared, centralized, services to the City of South San Francisco and its community members.
It is recommended that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager or authorized designee to execute an amendment to the agreement with the County of San Mateo (County) for continued provision of animal control services for a three-year extension beginning July 1, 2026, and a not to exceed amount of $578,816 for FY 2026/27.
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
1. Exhibit A 2021-2026 Agreement
2. Estimate - FY 2026/27 Animal Control Costs by City (04/16/2026)
3. Presentation