Public Safety Committee to Consider New Contract with Pasadena Humane

Despite considerations to seek services elsewhere, city staff is recommending the Public Safety Committee support an $8.5 million five-year contract with the Pasadena Humane.

“In May 2019, PHS proposed to significantly increase the cost of animal services to the City, as well as Arcadia, Bradbury, La  Cañada Flintridge, San Marino, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena,” according to a city staff report.

According to the report, the city faced a $715,636 increase that would have hiked the city’s cost by 57%, from $1,250,924 to $1,966,560, and doubled the annual costs of the seven other San Gabriel Valley cities.

Instead, the city negotiated a $1,625,887 increase and a smaller price hike for the seven other cities.

The issue led the cities to consider forming a joint powers authority for animal services, contracting with the county’s Department of Animal Services or developing a new city program. A joint powers method would have increased Pasadena’s debt for animal services by $1.9 million.

County facilities currently do not have the capacity to serve the additional San Gabriel Valley cities, and a new facility makes it one of the most costly options at $2.4 million. 

An option to contract with the city of Los Angeles to enter into a contract with the city, and starting a city facility would exceed the proposed Pasadena Humane contract.

“After more than a year of discussion between PHS (Pasadena Humane Society — Editor) and the city workgroups, the parties negotiated a five-year contract with the first contract value equal to the current contract value minus the value of licensing revenue retained by the city in FY 20.”

State law requires cities to maintain animal-control shelter systems and rabies-control programs. Pasadena Humane has done that for Pasadena — along with providing services for adoption, veterinary care, pickup and impounding of stray animals and other services — since 1904.

Concerns over the proposed fee increases first arose last September, when the city managers of the San Gabriel Valley communities served by the Pasadena Humane, including Pasadena, sent a letter to the society condemning the proposed hikes and questioning the nonprofit’s transparency.

In that letter, the managers – including Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell — said their efforts to get answers about proposed increases of up to 500 percent “have not been fruitful.”

At the time, Pasadena Now reported that Arcadia was asked to pay $525,000 annually, up from $90,000. La Cañada Flintridge’s proposed fees went from $40,000 to $146,00; Bradbury’s proposed bill jumped from $4,700 to $20,415.

According to documents obtained in 2019 by Pasadena Now, the organization was operating in the black.

An IRS filing for the society covering 2017 showed revenue of $12.7 million and expenses of $10.7 million. Donors are another source of the society’s revenues.