Editor's note: The Montgomery County fiscal year 2016-17 budget was adopted Sept. 6, after press time on Sept. 2. This story has been updated to reflect changes made to the budget during that time period, including the amount of money allocated in the animal shelter budget and the county tax rate. 

Montgomery County Commissioners Court adopted the fiscal year 2016-17 budget Sept. 6 after considering several proposed tweaks to the county tax rate and animal shelter budget over the past six weeks.

The FY 2015-16 budget for the animal shelter was $2.2 million for the 21,000 animals taken in during the year, which equated to $104 per animal, according to Precinct 4. Although Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark, who has oversight for the facility, was in favor of a FY 2016-17 animal shelter budget of $3.4 million, the court approved a motion Sept. 6 to set aside $1 million of that total.

At the Sept. 6 meeting, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack and Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley suggested the motion as a way to further study how the budget will be used to improve conditions at the animal shelter.

"When we swept money from one department and told somebody we'll set it aside and you can prove that you need it, why don't we do that with the animal shelter?" Riley said. "Why don't we take $1 million and set it aside and if he does need it, and we know they need it, we'll work on it."

Noack, Riley and County Judge Craig Doyal voted in favor of the motion, which was approved with a 3-2 vote.

Two weeks prior, during the Aug. 23 Commissioners Court meeting, Clark also suggested lowering the animal shelter budget. At that time, he suggested lowering the budget back to $2.2 million because he said the higher $3.4 million budget may be more than what taxpayers were comfortable with.

During the week of Aug. 29, Clark said he thought $2.2 million might be a reachable operational budget for the animal shelter once an aggressive spay and neuter program is put in place and efforts with local volunteer, foster and rescue groups are coordinated. 

“But, we need to do a better job of reducing our intake numbers," Clark said. "Once we do that, I’m confident costs [at the shelter] will come down.”

Clark told the other members of Commissioners Court Sept. 6 that the county needs to fund the shelter at an acceptable level and that it has always been underfunded.

"When you don't fund something at a proper level, it doesn't work," Clark said. "Across the nation, the intake of animals should be 30 per 1,000 [residents]. We should be taking in 16,500 animals a year, but we've been taking in 21,000 animals. One of the functions we're supposed to be performing is good, healthy spay and neuter. The problem is, that costs money. If you don't fund things, it's like trying to fill up a fuel tank with a hole in the bottom."

Shelter conditions

Montgomery County took over management of the animal shelter last fall after terminating a contract with Care Corporation due to concerns over poor conditions at the facility off Hwy. 242.

Although Clark said there are a lot of issues at the shelter that need to be addressed, he said improvements have been made. Under Director Todd Hayden, the shelter this year has appointed new foster, rescue and volunteer coordinators and launched a community cat program, Clark said. Clark said another goal is establishing a full-scale, countywide spay and neuter program.

Regardless of the changes, the county is searching for a new shelter director once again. Hayden, who was appointed director in March, replaced former director Michael White, who left the shelter after eight days. White said there were too many unknown problems at the facility.

Following the county’s announcement in late August of its plan to search nationwide for a new director, Hayden is expected to remain with the shelter and aid in the search, which Clark said he hopes is complete by November at the latest.

“The groundwork is in place for a permanent director to come in and build on that effort,” Clark said. “We all want a shelter that provides quality care and serves the needs of the community.”

However, county residents and volunteers continue to address Commissioners Court regarding issues at the facility. Volunteer Paulette Fisher said conditions at the shelter are embarrassing.

“My friends used to just comment about how proud they were of my time helping the animals,” she said. “The more they see how the conditions have deteriorated inside that building, I don’t even want to let people know I still go there.”

Volunteer Tracy Dupre said it is still hard for shelter visitors to determine who works at the shelter because none of the employees have name tags.

“About five months ago when [Hayden] came on board I asked him if we could get nametags for people, and it’s still not been done,” Dupre said. “It’s embarrassing; the public goes in there, and they don’t know who works there. It’s a very unwelcoming [facility] for a place that needs so much compassion.”

Clark said his focus for the shelter moving forward includes hiring the most qualified director candidate, implementing cost savings, increasing staffing levels and implementing staff uniforms and name tags.

“It’s clear [the animal shelter] has faced significant challenges, but with the help of county government, volunteers and support groups, we can significantly improve the shelter and its ability to serve the community,” Clark said.

Larger budget 

Beyond the animal shelter concerns, Montgomery County is working to keep up with providing services amid population growth. A tax cut was also factored in as part of the FY 2016-17 budget.

During the Aug. 23 Commissioners Court meeting, Doyal proposed decreasing the property tax rate by a quarter of a cent. The money for the tax cut was to be allocated from a new capital improvement fund included in the FY 2016-17 budget.

“I hear every day that appraisals are out of line, which is the big hit people are taking,” Doyal said. “I think it’s a good move on our part to being able to reduce the burden on our taxpayers.”

However, Noack also came with a proposal during the Sept. 6 meeting to cut the tax rate by 1 cent down to a rate of 0.4667, which was approved by the court unanimously. The money for the tax cut will still come from the county's new capital improvement fund.

Noack, who gave credit to Doyal for originally coming up with the idea, said he thought if the county was going to make a tax cut, it should make one that would be more impactful.

"I think we can lower the tax rate by a penny," Noack said. "It lets our taxpayers keep more money in their pocket. When appraisals are going up as they have, it's the homeowners taking it on the chin. I believe a 1-cent tax reduction is measurable, it's meaningful and it's responsible."

Since Montgomery County is over 80 percent unincorporated, it does not have the advantages of other fast-growing counties with large cities to help fund law enforcement and roadway maintenance, Doyal said.

The FY 2016-17 county budget is approximately $347 million. The largest increases in the budget include approximately $8 million set aside for the capital improvement fund, which will give the county an opportunity to fund major projects without adding to its debt.

“We’ve heard the taxpayers say over and over, ‘Pay as you go,’” Doyal said. “In an effort to do that, we set aside this capital fund because we have had a lot of large projects that we can’t pay for out of a single budget.”

The budget also includes a funding increase for the road and bridge department, personnel—including seven new law enforcement positions—and an increase in debt service. Doyal said the catchup is ultimately more expensive than the keep-up.

“We’re not keeping up today, but we’re trying the best we can,” he said.