Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Colleen Chawla, Chief, San Mateo County Health
Tamarra Jones, Director, Public Health, Policy and Planning
Subject: Amendment to the Agreements with the Cities of the County and with Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA for the Provision of Animal Care and Control Services
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing the Chief of San Mateo County Health or designee to:
A) Execute an amendment to the agreement with the twenty cities of the County for the facilitation and coordination of animal care and control services to extend the term for a period of three (3) years, through June 30, 2029; and
B) Execute an amendment to the agreement with the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA to provide animal care and control services to extend the term for a period of three (3) years, through June 30, 2029, and increase the not-to-exceed contract amount by $21,665,294 to an amount not to exceed $54,214,284.
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BACKGROUND:
The County of San Mateo's Ordinance Code, largely Chapter 6.04, and similar city ordinances, as well as state laws such as the California Penal Code, Food and Agriculture Code, and Health and Safety Code, require cities and counties to provide animal care, control, and shelter services. These services are essential to protecting the health and safety of all County residents.
Animal care, control, and shelter services are highly specialized and intensive, making it difficult for any single jurisdiction to provide these services on its own. As a result, since 1951, the 21 local jurisdictions (twenty cities [Cities] and the County) have pooled resources to collectively purchase these services. With this arrangement, the jurisdictions have realized lower costs and better services than each jurisdiction could provide on its own. Under the agreement between the County and the Cities, all jurisdictions share costs based upon a formula that reflects each jurisdiction's proportionate use of field and shelter services.
On January 5, 2021, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released to 71 organizations, seeking a contractor to provide animal care, control, and shelter services for San Mateo County jurisdictions. Two entities submitted proposals in response to the RFP.
On March 4, 2021, the proposals were evaluated by a review committee comprised of nine reviewers, including a Deputy County Manager, a San Mateo County Fiscal Officer, five reviewers from the Cities, and subject matter experts from Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County. The review committee concluded that the proposal from the Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA (PHS/SPCA) was the superior of the two proposals.
On June 29, 2021, this Board approved an agreement with PHS/SPCA to provide animal care and control services for the term of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $32,548,990.
The agreement between the County and Cities for allocation of the cost of services under the agreement between the County and PHS was executed by all Cities as of June 28, 2021. Each of the agreements is contingent upon the full execution by all parties of the other agreement.
DISCUSSION:
The County is amending the existing contract with PHS/SPCA to allow for a continuation of the agreement between the Cities and the County, as permitted upon mutual consent. The current contract with PHS/SPCA allows for a three-year extension upon mutual consent of both the County and PHS/SPCA. Following discussions, both the County and PHS/SPCA determined the contract is being effectively fulfilled and administered, and all Cities have agreed to extend their respective agreements for the same period of three years. The existing contract with PHS/SPCA has demonstrated strong performance, with both the County and the Cities satisfied with PHS/SPCA’s execution of its obligations. Notably, PHS/SPCA has consistently met its performance measures in each year of the contract term.
The Cities will continue to pay the County for administrative services outlined in the agreement for the next three years, consistent with the past five years, with a reasonable annual increase of 3%.
The amendments and resolution have been reviewed and approved by the County Attorney as to form.
This Board is being asked to authorize the Chief of San Mateo County Health, or designee, to execute subsequent amendments which do not exceed an aggregate of $25,000.
It is anticipated that 95% of Priority 1 Field Service Calls will be completed within one hour and 85% of animals will have a positive placement in FY 2026-27.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2025-26 Estimated |
FY 2026-27 Projected |
|
Percentage of Priority 1 Field Service Calls completed within one hour |
95% 831/875 calls |
95% 855/900 calls |
|
Percentage of animals that will have a positive placement |
85% 2009/2363 animals |
85% 2125/2500 animals |
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
PHS/SPCA promotes public safety, advances animal welfare, and strengthens community trust through humane, responsive service. They address issues such as stray animals and dangerous animal situations with professionalism, thereby reducing risks such as animal bites, disease transmission, and traffic hazards. By focusing on reducing shelter intake and euthanasia by reuniting pets with owners and championing spay and neuter efforts throughout the County, PHS/SPCA improves animal outcomes and creates a more humane and sustainable animal care system.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the amended agreement is July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2029. The amount of the amended agreement is not to exceed $54,214,284 for the eight-year term. Funds in the amount of $6,858,739 are included in the PHPP FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget. Similar arrangements will be made in future years. The agreement costs are shared by the Cities and County based on a three-year average of usage of services. Currently, the County share of costs is approximately 7% or $480,111 and is the portion paid by Net County Cost.