The Riverside City Council recently approved a three-year, $16.8 million contract with Riverside County Department of Animal Services, despite concerns some council members raised over the cost of the agreement.
By the end of the agreement, the city will pay nearly double the annual amount it now pays for animal services.
Currently, the city pays $3.6 million a year on animal services. By the end of the third year in the agreement with the county, however, Riverside will pay about $6.6 million annually, according to a city report.
In an effort to quell overcrowding in animal shelters and meet rising costs, the council voted 5-2 on Nov. 18 to approve an updated services agreement with the county that runs through June 2028.
Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes, Steven Robillard, Sean Mill, Jim Perry and Steve Hemenway voted in support of the contract. Councilmembers Philip Falcone and Chuck Conder voted against it.
Falcone said at the meeting that the county made the right decision to approve a "no-kill" policy for its shelters, but added that the financial burden for achieving that goal should not fall on the city.
"It's their responsibility to pay for that," Falcone added. "So my struggle is the city paying for something that should be purely in the space of the county to pay for ... my overall concern is that this is really the county's job to be doing this and not the city."
The county's Department of Animal Services euthanized 37% of dogs and cats in its care in 2023, which activists claim was the highest rate in the United States, according to the city report. Since the county adopted policy against euthanizing animals, shelter costs increased from $14.9 million in 2024 to $28.1 million this year, officials said.
In October, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the animal services department's request to hike fees it charges under contracts with cities across the county to cover expenses for personnel, impounds and other necessities.
To address the number of calls for animals services in the city of Riverside, the county proposed increasing the number of animal control officers from five to six. In addition, the county will provide animal field and shelter services that includes kenneling, licensing, and the required spay/neuter clinics, according to the report.
Under its contract with the county, Riverside will see a 5% annual increase in field labor rates, and a 17% shelter cost increase in the first year, a 44% increase in the second year and a 20% increase in third year. The new rates go into effect in January.
The city also approved an $816,000 appropriation for community programs, which includes a microchip scanner program at the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center at 6165 Industrial Ave., a program for neutering and spaying cats, additional spay/neuter events, adoption events and marketing.
Riverside will pay the highest contract amount, according to Riverside County's revised fee structure. Other cities impacted by the county's price hike include Perris, Hemet, San Jacinto, Jurupa Valley, and Eastvale.
In May, the county Board of Supervisors approved the "no kill" policy for healthy animals across all facilities in a longstanding effort to improve shelter operations. The policy change came after the supervisors appointed Mary Martin animal services director in February.
Martin's appointment came as the county was under scrutiny for its handling of animal services. Growing concerns about the treatment of shelter animals and euthanasia rates led to an ongoing lawsuit originally filed against the county in August 2024, followed in the early fall by the resignation of the county's animal services director.