Plan to Fix Animal Control Raises Questions

By Shane Smith / The Jersey City Independent
August 14, 2009 

Months after revelations surfaced in late February that at least two Animal Control officers were dumping cats they’d collected into wild areas of Lincoln Park rather than taking them to the appropriate shelter or animal hospital, the city’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has submitted its plan detailing ways it hopes to improve the service of the Animal Control division, which DHHS oversees. 

The plan is a long time coming, and the result of much wrangling between animal advocates, the City Council, city attorneys and the Healy administration.

In March, Ward E councilman Steven Fulop called for a 19-member independent commission “to develop and track measurable objectives to ensure a competent Animal Control program,” as well as the creation of an Animal Control Ombudsman. The Healy administration and the City Council were resistant to Fulop’s proposal and challenged it at every turn, preferring to allow Animal Control correct its problems on its own.

Over the course of the next few months, Fulop’s plan was amended to provide for a nine-member commission, blocked by the Law Department, saw a downgrade to a 13-member committee, and was finally abandoned by the council in June. 

Instead of voting on Fulop’s whittled-down ordinance, the council sent a “directive memo” to DHHS director Harry Melendez, requesting he submit a corrective action plan by Aug. 1. In response, Melendez submitted a memo to the city council on Aug. 5. In it, Melendez lays out 11 initiatives that Animal Control has already implemented or plans to, including increased staffing, additional documentation requirements, new software and the creation of an Animal Welfare & Population Control Committee to provide advice and recommendations for best practices to Animal Control. 

No council member commented on the plan as it was received by the council at their meeting on Wednesday. Speaking after the meeting, Fulop told JCI that he had asked Melendez to provide additional specifics regarding the plan, including a timeline for the implementation of the initiatives it describes. As of Wednesday afternoon he hadn’t heard back. Our calls to Melendez were not returned this week.

In an email to JCI, city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says the initiatives described in the plan are those already “generally in place,” with the exception of establishing a second shift “to respond to calls received after regular working hours.” She adds that Animal Control already operates around the clock, but the creation of a second shift, which is slated to happen “within the next few weeks,” will help the division reduce overtime costs. [...]

Read more at The Jersey City Independent