The city of Buda will pay $14,090 more in 2019 than it did in 2018 for the services provided by the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter, according to a new contract approved by City Council at its meeting Jan. 15.

The San Marcos facility is the only public animal shelter in Hays County—a nearly 700-square-mile area—and receives money annually from Buda, Kyle and Hays County in addition to its primary funding from San Marcos. But as the county's population continues to grow, so does the number of animals needing assistance.

“Our past agreement—it was not truly a cost-sharing method,”  Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd told the council when he presented the new contract, which would dedicate $37,463 to the shelter this year. “Through several meetings we’ve had with the city of San Marcos, they are seeking now to have actual cost-sharing.”

In addition to the extra funding, the council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the implementation of a plan to help the shelter reach no-kill status, which is defined as a live-outcome rate of more than 90 percent.

“I’ll say I’m 100 percent behind that,” Council Member Paul Daugereau said. “I think that we need to pay our fair share of this so we can get it up to no-kill.”

Buda’s approval of the resolution is the most recent demonstration of growing regional support for improving the shelter’s ability to find alternatives to euthanasia; the city of San Marcos, the city of Wimberley and Hays County have all passed similar resolutions in recent months.

“My thoughts were, early on, that it was appalling—the conditions and the kill rate that was going on in that facility,” Buda City Council Member Wiley Hopkins said. “I think it was very necessary for this community, as well as the others, to get aboard and, in a humane way, take care of these animals. I think it’s reflective on our community to go ahead and approve this resolution.”