BOH minutes 102303 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 23, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 October 23, 2003 next several months, this focus will be further defined. C. Discussion on Animal Services Reports For the past year, the Board has been engaged in the discussions regarding animal sheltering services in Orange County. Several reports have been issued in the past several months including the Interim Report issued by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) at the Board of Commissioner’s request; the final Report of the HSUS, and the Interim Report prepared by staff at the request of the Commissioners which begins to detail the options surrounding a possible county operation of sheltering services. On September 12, the Board of Commissioners and the County Manager received communications from the APS regarding continuation funding. Also at the Commissioner’s regular meeting on September 16, a proposal for a task force to address the HSUS recommendations was discussed. No action was taken on that proposal; rather several commissioners were to discuss that further with the county manager. The Board discussed both the Board’s role and the Health Department’s role in these matters. The Board has previously not had time to engage in a discussion of the whole animal services area and where it belongs and the consequences of those various choices in light of all the recommendations that have been made. The county has several options to manage the shelter: 1) form a separate department in the county to manage animal services and shelter management, 2) leave the structure as it currently exists using a private non -profit contractor to manage the shelter; or 3) create a division within the Health Department for animal services that would contain both animal control and shelter management. The Board agreed that a continuation of the current situation is unacceptable where the Board has some responsibility but little authority. The Board discussed accountability issues in terms of what would have to happen within the department for accountability to be at a higher level and how the organizational structure of the shelter management group would have to mesh with the Board of Health should the Commissioners decide on the second option. Board members felt that Board of Health members and staff should be directly involved with the organizational processes and the shelter director would answer to the Health Director and the Board of Health would have a role in selecting the Board of Directors of the shelter. The Board also discussed option 3 that a new unit be formed within the health department, animal services, with the director of animal control and the director of the shelter reporting through this unit to the Health Director. This structure was proposed in the department’s report of a county takeover of the shelter, of creating a unit, a division within the health department where the staff all reports to that division. The Board looked at additional alternatives that have been presented and expressed concern. One alternative would be to put animal shelter services in the sheriff’s department. The Board was equally concerned about putting it under the county manager as a separate stand-alone department because there were concerns about the