Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PSMTC 2017/03/21 2016-2018COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND MASS TRANSIT 1st Session West Hawaii Civic Center 74-5044 Ane Keohokdlole Highway, Building A Kailua-Kona, Hawaii March 21, 2017 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Safety and Mass Transit ORDER: was called to order at 10:02 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Kailua-Kona, by Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Jennifer Ruggles, Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Dru Mamo Kanuha, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Ms. Eileen O'Hara, Member Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak in regards to Comm. 108, and came forward when called by the Chair: Anna Nawahine-Kaho`opi`i, representing E Ola Na ilo O Maku O Keawe. Sylvia Dolena, repreesenting Pele Lani Farm LLC. Linda Brooks. Mary Rose Krij gsman, representing Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary. Tina Bounds. Shiela Buckley, representing Aloha Animal Advocates. PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 Cheryl Pascual, representing Aloha Animal Advocates. Ilene Harrington. CHR. RUGGLES: I am going to close testimony at this time and move to Communication 108. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 108: REQUESTS DISCUSSION WITH DONNA WHITAKER, DIRECTOR OF HAWAII ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY, REGARDING THE AGENCY'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES From Council Member Eileen O'Hara, dated January 12, 2017. Motion to Close File: Ms. O'Hara moved to close file on Comm. 108. Seconded by Ms. David. CHR. RUGGLES: Ms. O'Hara you have the floor. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. Yes, I've been approached by many concerned citizens regarding the situation with the Humane Society Service contract with the County of Hawaii, and in looking into it I found that it raised a lot of questions. So, I'm very grateful that Ms. Whitaker be with us today to go over some of the policies and procedures with Humane Society. I think we all received a copy of a presentation that she'll be giving us (see Comm. 108.1). So, Ms. Whitaker, could you please come forward? And, when you speak please give your name. (Note: At this time, Hawaii Island Humane Society Executive Director Donna Whitaker, Dr. Kristina Henricks, and Accountant Henry Chapman came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MS. WHITAKER: Good morning, everybody. My name is Donna Whitaker, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Island Humane Society. With me are our lead veterinarian, Dr. Henricks; and our accountant, Henry Chapman. We have given you copies of our annual report in our presentation, if you would care to follow along with that. And, we'd be happy to answer any questions you have at the end of the presentation. Page 2 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 (Note: At this time, Executive Director Donna Whitaker gave a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. For a detailed viewing of the subject discussion, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office. A copy of the presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 108. 1.) MS. WHITAKER: Thank you for the opportunity, and we look forward to any questions. CHR. RUGGLES: Thank you for your presentation. Any discussion or questions? MS. O'HARA: Chair? CHR. RUGGLES: Yes. MS. O'HARA: Thank you again for coming before us and presenting all of that information. Your presentation, of course, invites many questions and so I'll just cover a few and give other Council Members an opportunity to weigh in. You just mentioned that you're doing a kind of a Capital Improvement Project. Is that a dog park or is there more to it? MS. WHITAKER: That is a brand new shelter campus on 12 acres that we own. MS. O'HARA: Okay. And that is owned by the Humane Society? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. MS. O'HARA: Okay. This question addresses something that–I'm sorry, sir, the accountant in the group? MS. WHITAKER: Henry. MS. O'HARA: Henry, sorry, that Henry said about when you give out your vouchers for the Spay Neuter Program they can opt to use your vet internally or they can go to a private vet. MS. WHITAKER: That's correct. MS. O'HARA: I'm sure that if they use your internal services, they aren't charged any extra office fees or anything like that. So what would be—why would people not choose to do that? Is there a scheduling issue? Page 3 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: Not usually. Kristina could probably answer that better as far as scheduling. But, myself, I love our veterinarians; but I have my personal vet so I would go to my veterinarian that I have a relationship with. Not everybody has those relationships. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: So sometimes it's a matter of convenience. Would you agree with that? DR. HENRICKS: Absolutely. Also, people may feel more secure going to a pet hospital rather than a clinic type of situation. Although, we run our Spay Neuter clinic as if it was a hospital. Even though it's high -quantity, we keep the quality high. And so they may feel more comfortable going to an actual pet hospital than choose that. As Donna said, a lot of them already have their favorite vet. MS. O'HARA: Understood. MS. WHITAKER: May I add one thing? MS. O'HARA: Sure. MS. WHITAKER: Between the surgery clinic in Kea`au and the one in Kona, we are doing surgeries four days a week in Kea`au and three in Kona now. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: And manage to stay busy all day, every day. And then one day a month, with hopes of increasing to two in Ocean View. MS. O'HARA: Okay. When you adopt out from the Humane Society, I believe you made the statement, Kristina, the fundraising is done by the Humane Society completely pays for adoptions; yet when I come in to adopt a dog, I pay for the spay and neutering and other aspects. It's about $100, I believe, adoption fee at this point in time. So, the public is paying for that. Are you considering that payment a fundraising effort or—I'm kind of not clear. MS. WHITAKER: No. We frequently offer specials. Right now it's half-price, dogs and cats. MS. O'HARA: Adoptions? Oh, okay. MS. WHITAKER: So between the microchip, and the vaccinations, and the spay/neuter surgery, and the collar, and the leash, and everything else that they get, we put between two and $250 of expenses into each animal. So anything Page 4 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 above the adoption fee that's paid for by the adopter, comes out of our donated or grants money. MS. O'HARA: So with that, you have grants that are coming in, and you have the County funds that are coming in, you have fundraisers that you conduct annually to raise money, and you have fees for service. This is a question for your accountant, Henry. Do you practice fund accounting, because that seems to be the question I'm hearing a lot from commenters, is the inability to extract one from the other. MR. CHAPMAN: I've heard that also. But rest assured, to the Council and to you, that we get audited annually. MS. O'HARA: Well, it's not a matter of an audit so much as it is the method of accounting. MR. CHAPMAN: Right, it is fund accounting. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MR. CHAPMAN: We've got restricted—permanently restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted funds, and those are monitored. MS. O'HARA: Okay. Then it should be easy then to see how the County money—I think this year we're—$220,000 for spay and neutering services for this fiscal year. It should be easy then to see the voucher program that this created. And those vouchers are all free vouchers, am I correct on that? So the voucher program that you run, where you come in the first of the month and you pay $30 for a cat or whatever for a dog that is a separate program, because when I'm reading your contract it says the "free" spay and neuter is under alternative funding not County funding. That's what the contract currently states. So, I'm confused. MR. CHAPMAN: Yeah, I think the County funded—the County Spay and Neuter Program, if you are familiar, those are the pink coupons. MS. O'HARA: No, I don't know the colors. Yeah, I'm sorry. MR. CHAPMAN: Well, those are all free, absolutely. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MR. CHAPMAN: And I think Donna can testify when they get issued. Page 5 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: We've been lucky enough with the additional County funding, lately in this fiscal year. That we have them available at all three shelters almost all month long because we've been able to increase the offerings. So people can come in at any time. In most cases, Kea` au is the busiest, so it's harder to—on the last day of the month to get a free coupon. But, they're available. They are out there all month long. The $30 coupon, that's—not everybody wants a free coupon, believe it or not. And, they pay a discounted price. Basically, Henry mentioned the color of the coupon, that's the only difference, and they can take it to their vet of choice that participates in this program. They pay $30 rather than 200 or whatever at the vet, and rather than get it free. So, that's a completely separate program. MR. CHAPMAN: Let me mention, and that's part of the County funding that you provide to us. MS. WHITAKER: No. That green, no. MR. CHAPMAN: Oh, I'm sorry. Oh, you mentioned the green. I'm sorry. I was talking about the green ones. MS. WHITAKER: Yeah. No, only the pink. MS. O'HARA: Pink and the green, okay. MS. WHITAKER: It's a pass through. They pay us $30, the vet sends us the coupon, and we pay them the reimbursement of 80. MS. O'HARA: Of 80, for the $30 coupon. And that is supplemented by your other fundraising efforts? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. MS. O'HARA: Okay. This is where it's difficult to obtain clarity sometimes, and I think this is where some of the problems lie. How many of your coupons go unredeemed, as a general percentage? You give out a coupon, and you don't pay the vet for the services. MS. WHITAKER: That's a complicated question, and I'll get there. It's just going to take an extra minute. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: As of the end of February, we had sent out the door 94 percent of those 2,720 coupons. Some of them do expire. People have a hard Page 6 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 time thinking during the holidays about that because there's so much going on. So we have a slow period, from about November 15th to January 15th, even with our shelter veterinarians. Henry and I were talking about it this morning. His statistics—I do monthly statistics. He does quarterly financial statistics, so he has figures through the end of January. And as of January, correct me if I'm wrong, it was 48 percent that we had paid out to the veterinarians? MR. CHAPMAN: It was 44 percent. MS. WHITAKER: So there's almost always a month, two or three, that we send out the coupons; they make an appointment at the vet, they turn in their coupon in at the vet; and then it can take three months for that vet to send us the coupons. So potentially the coupons he's getting in the mail, we dispensed last, in October, so it takes a while to catch up with it. And that is why our auditor, every year, calculates the value of coupons that we had sent out that have not been returned to us yet. And, Henry actually has the figure. It's usually— MR. CHAPMAN: Unredeemed, yeah. MS. WHITAKER: Unredeemed. It was last year, how much? MR. CHAPMAN: It was probably maybe MS. WHITAKER: Thirty-eight thousand or something? MR. CHAPMAN: Oh, you want dollar? About 10—let me just see. MS. WHITAKER: It was about 10 percent that could have been dispensed as early—sent out as early as April, as late as June, that we're obligated to pay. But we may not get until the next fiscal year, in July or August. MR. CHAPMAN: Yeah, I think in 2015 it was 63,000. But like Donna had mentioned, she's trying to reduce that unredeemed amount by getting them out early. In 2016, it was about 20,000 that were unredeemed, that we had to book on our books, because they were not redeemed. We're trying to reduce that amount, hopefully. MS. WHITAKER: That carries over to next year because we're still obligated to pay that until such time that they just don't— MS.O'HARA: Right. MS. WHITAKER: —return them. Page 7 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. O'HARA: And that brings me to, perhaps, another question. Which is, as a nonprofit you are carrying over a considerable balance, fund balance, which—I mean, it can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing, too. And that as a nonprofit you are obligated to expend that money on the services that you're providing. So is there an explanation for why your fund balance has been increasing, steadily increasing over the last eight years? MS. WHITAKER: Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, being in the midst of a capital campaign we get pledges and donations in for future work. Is that correct? MR. CHAPMAN: Yes. Like I said, we were fund accounting. So, you're familiar with the temporary restricted and unrestricted funds. Part of that million dollars that you are talking about are temporary restricted funds that have a sole purpose to be used. MS. WHITAKER: For construction, right? So by—when our bulldozers start running within the next couple of weeks, we are steadily going to spend that earmarked money. MR. CHAPMAN: That's right, earmarked. MS. WHITAKER: Earmarked, on what it was earmarked for, and that's for construction. So by the time—probably not, well, definitely not this fiscal year but next fiscal year, that money that was earmarked for the capital campaign will be gone. But, we have taken great pains to make sure it is separate. MR. CHAPMAN: Right. MS. WHITAKER: Definitely separate from the County and separate from HIHS (Hawai`i Island Humane Society) normal Humane Society donations. MS. O'HARA: And is that new facility going to be replacing the existing facility? MS. WHITAKER: It is our understanding the County has long-range plans of using our property down here. We were told about six years ago now to plan on being out in about five years, so five years ago we bought the property to make plans to move. So, it will be our new property. MS. O'HARA: And you own the property at Kea`au, and you're leasing in Waimea, correct? MS. WHITAKER: That's correct. Page 8 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. O'HARA: Okay, just one last question. You have quite a few staff. I've heard varying numbers. You said 36 in the presentation. You said 38. MS. WHITAKER: It's actually 38. We just hired two part-time people. MS. O'HARA: Okay. And we heard a higher number from a commenter. That's not correct. Okay. MR. CHAPMAN: Fifty-two, I think. MS. O'HARA: Fifty-two, yeah. No, so you have 38. And do you attribute some of the staffing costs to your other programs, because as you say about 70 percent is funded? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: We have several positions that are hundred percent paid by donated funds. The positions that are paid by Animal Control are specified in the contract. MS. O'HARA: Okay. Thank you very much. I yield. CHR. RUGGLES: Are there any other questions? Okay, go ahead, Mr. Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Good morning, and thanks for being here. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. MR. RICHARDS: Again, questions be set questions, right? Did I understand correctly, on the number of neutering there is 4,751 done last year, and that number exceeded the funding of the County funding. So that the balance is by the $30, is that what I understand? MS. WHITAKER: No. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: Well, we have a great grant writer, and people understand how important this is to fulfilling our mission, so we have a lot of donations for spay and neuter. With our two wonderful vets now, working between them seven days a week at the two, we are able to do more community spayed. So owned animals, we have a mama dog and mama cat program, the community cat program. There are many different programs. We fundraise or get grants or Page 9 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 donations for those. So the $221,000 from the County is only the coupon program, with the people coming in to get coupons and taking them to their vet, whoever that might be. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And then question on your carryover, $1.6 million, of that what is earmarked for capital? MR. CHAPMAN: About a million. MS. WHITAKER: One point one, I think. He's got it in the audit right there. The others— MR. HENRY: One point one. MS. WHITAKER: We have a lot of restricted funds, board -restricted and restricted to specific programs. He's got the figures in front of him. But things like the Horse Rescue fund, we had several years where we had 15, 16, 20 horses. And one of our wonderful supporters started this fund for us, so it's a single -purpose fund. We have Humane Education funds. These are all for programs other than what is provided under the County, the Second Chance Medical Fund; the Katie Fund, which is the Community Spay Neuter fund. We even have—our wonderful supporters donated $1,600 to help with lava flow supplies, from Kiluaea couple years ago because we were passing out food and supplies to the people affected by the lava flow. So, one point one is earmarked for capital and then about $500,000 of those, restricted funds. MR. RICHARDS: Okay. And then of that—I'm familiar with the property that you'll be building on. Did I hear correctly, you're planning on having a dog park there? MS. WHITAKER: Yes, two. MR. RICHARDS: Has this all been worked out with the neighbors and all? MS. WHITAKER: Oh, yeah. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, so we've got good relationships there. And, one more quick question here. Your total capital expenditure for the new property at one point one, I guess, quote "in the bank," is that going to cover that construction? Are you still going on capital funding? MS. WHITAKER: We are small fundraising. The money that we've already spent, which was mostly planning and a little bit that we spend on acquiring the Page 10 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 property. And the one point one in the bank will take care of Phase 1, which is the dog parks. So, a lot of the infrastructure, the admin. and the welcome center, lots of infrastructure up there, in that aging spot. And then we continue to fundraise for Phase 2, which are the dog pavilions and the cat barn. Actually, moving the animals up there. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, so total capital expenditure for the whole program is estimated at what? MS. WHITAKER: That's an interesting question, because fees keep going up and the estimates keep going up. Five million is what I keep hearing right now. MR. RICHARDS: Okay, alright. Thank you. I yield. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member Poindexter. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah, a testifier, I think it was Cheryl Pascual, had talked about that emergency situation with the horses. So would that special funding—could that help? I think you said you had special funding for horses, so would that help with paying someone time to go out to—? MS. WHITAKER: For—not—it would help for medical care, it would help for food. That testifier—it concerned me because if they call our 24-hour emergency line, an animal in distress, the answering service is supposed to call us. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: So that's what I'm not sure, if anything happens. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay. So they could report an animal in distress or animal abuse, and someone will attend to it? Okay, so I want to definitely make sure. MS. WHITAKER: We have officers on call at all three shelters for weekends and holidays. MS. POINDEXTER: Okay. The other thing that she had stated is they'd love to see a family fun -friendly evening, which I think is a great idea. I think if we could gather a group of volunteers, even in the community, to make that happen. It's a benefit for you because you build a relationship with the community. And the community themselves, the families, will get to know each and build those relationships within their own community, so I love that idea and I think that can happen throughout the island. Page 11 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: Sure. MS. POINDEXTER: It doesn't necessarily have to be—I mean if Cheryl has like 10 acres, maybe do a visit up at a home that would be willing to host something with some neighbors, that would be great too, I think. If it's allowable, I don't know. So, those kinds of building relationships with communities and having these visits or events, I think, are important to start talking about. MS. WHITAKER: I agree. MS. POINDEXTER: Yeah. MS. WHITAKER: I don't how many we have, mobile adoption, 20 or 30 in the course of the year between the three shelters, and a lot of times, evenings or Sundays, and pretty well -attended and pretty well -advertised. MS. POINDEXTER: The other thing is your dog parks. I like the idea of that. And I'd love to see working with you more to see if we can get more around the island versus the County's Park and Recreation trying to do dog parks is—you know, I don't know if some community nonprofits would be willing to host something like that. If we could—I don't know if there's some private property areas that we could work out something to do these parks around the island? MS. WHITAKER: Yeah, it's interesting. Our dog parks here will be a total of almost two acres. And we have an acre and a quarter in Kea` au, dog parks. Two dog parks, and they are always busy. Always busy. MS. POINDEXTER: We need one in Hdmakua, desperately. Right, Cheryl? MS. WHITAKER: Yeah. MS. POINDEXTER: Thank you. Thank you so much, though, for all you do. Aloha. CHR. RUGGLES: Alright. Mr. Chung. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. You know, the issue of a Humane Society contract comes up annually, right? But, Donna, maybe if you would take us back in time, tell us how all of this started, animal control contract with your organization. Because you know, ultimately any complaints regarding that contract should be directed to the County. Page 12 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: Sure. MR. CHUNG: Because we're the ones who set the policy, we're the ones who set the parameters of that contract. But, I want to understand this thing, and I want to see if there's any way integrating some of the concerns that have been brought up with regard, you know, from the rescue organizations. But I have to understand how all of this thing started. Can you, please? MS. WHITAKER: Well, way back in 1968 we started—well, '65 we started. But we started at East Hawaii Humane Society, doing animal control services strictly for East Hawaii; and we expanded island -wide 1990, when County Council wisely wanted an integrated approach. So we took over animal control services for the entire island. Now, I wasn't working for the Humane Society then; but I've lived here since 1976. And way back in 1990, there were no services, there were no education, there was no adoption outreach, there was no collaboration, there was very little spay and neuter. They had a policy to—everyone needs to be spayed and neutered, but they went to the outside veterinarians. MR. CHUNG: Who had a policy? MS. WHITAKER: The Humane Society. MR. CHUNG: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: They allowed them to take the animal and spayed, go to the outside veterinarians at their convenience, or if it didn't happen. So what happened around 1990, '94, `95, they realized that only about 15 percent of the people they were trusting to get the surgeries were actually getting the surgeries. So fast forward to about the year 2000, the Humane Society contracted with outside veterinarians to do the surgeries. So rather than release them to the owners, they got on a waiting list; if this veterinarian had an opening in two weeks, that's where the animal went. MR. CHUNG: And there's still no contract with the County yet? MS. WHITAKER: There was animal control services only, but loose spay/neuter. MR. CHUNG: So it didn't include that? MS. WHITAKER: Right. MR. CHUNG: It was an animal control contract? Page 13 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: Yes. You take them in; you try to get them adopted. If they didn't get adopted fairly quickly, they were humanely euthanized. MR. CHUNG: And the policy from the Council or the County, as best you can tell, at that particular point and time, prior to all these surgery parts coming in, was to do specifically what? Get animals off of the street? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. The language—the testifier earlier mentioned that the language in the contract hasn't changed since 1994. Last year was the first year that we were able to get some updated language in there, include things like taking out the language of disposition and certain things because it was so outdated. How far we've come, I started in 2008, in just that amount of time it's amazing. We started upgrading our spay/neuter outreach in 2009, and since then we've seen a steady decline in the intake. Because you can't—you have to educate, that's part of it. You have to spay and neuter to reduce the litters coming in. That's the only way that we'll be able to do it. As far as being able to save more, with our Second Chance fund, which Kristina can talk about better than I can because she lives and breathes it—and the additional spay and neutering we offer, it's a completely different organization than it was 10 years ago. MR. CHUNG: Yeah. Well, there's a real visceral kind of statistic that was brought up by some of the other people, about the 70 percent kill rate. And, of course I own a dog. I'm not saying I'm a dog lover or anything like that. But that's kind of—it catches a person's attention. Is there anything you can say about that? MS. WHITAKER: There's a lot I can say about that. The overall euthanasia rate is made up a lot of things, like mongooses and chickens. MR. CHUNG: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: So that's the total. The 8,500, or whatever it was that we took in, a third of that is things that we really can't adopt. MR. CHUNG: Okay. So, I mean I don't have anything against the mongoose or chickens. But let's say you were to just talk about cats and dogs, what would be the kill rate? MS. WHITAKER: I don't have it in front of me. Do you? I would think—they do. Perhaps you'd like to bring it up here so we can look at it? So those numbers Page 14 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 sound to me like—are not just adoptable or healthy -treatable but also behavioral or ill dogs, and that— MR. CHUNG: For the viewing public's information, what were those numbers again? For cats, 70 percent? Fifty-five and what? Okay, and for dogs 55 and 60 percent. I'm just wondering if—well, first of all, why—I think I might know the answer for this, but it might be best if it came from you. Why is the contract being administered by the Police Department? MS. WHITAKER: That's a good question. I am told—that happened before I came. It used to be administered by the Finance Department, and they moved it off to the Police Department because we're quasi bond enforcement. MR. CHUNG: Maybe that's something we should be looking at again. I think I suggested the last time that perhaps it go back to the Finance Department or go directly under the Mayor's office. But at the same time, I'm just wondering, again, is there any way that your organization and these rescue organizations can come to the table and come up with some kind of suitable, well, at least some ideas as to how we could modify our contract to address the needs of the animal people, and also our interest at controlling the animal population? Is there any chance—is it possible for you guys to get together? MS. WHITAKER: Well, it was interesting while the testifiers were testifying. I didn't necessarily disagree with any one of them. They all had great ideas. Some of their numbers were off. But, I don't think we're too far off in wanting the same thing. MR. CHUNG: Yeah, and that's what I think too. I think it's something—we have areas of commonality here, well, you guys have. I would just urge all of you get together, and then work with whoever is in charge of the contract, whoever it may be, after we're finished with the budget. But I think it's doable, quite frankly. And, I think the County will be willing to listen. MS. WHITAKER: There's an old saying that "animal people are passionate people," and so sometimes it's harder to take the passion off the table and talk with a clearer, unemotional head. MR. CHUNG: But I'd hate for us to leave this meeting, and then the next time we hear about all of this is next year, during the budget, so maybe if we could possibly revisit this in about two months? Maybe if all of you could get together and talk? If nothing comes of it, then that's fine, but at least we know where we Page 15 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 stand. Will that be okay? You would be willing to try to put your heads together and try to reform this contract? MS. WHITAKER: It's something definitely to consider. MR. CHUNG: Yeah. Yeah, okay. Thank you. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you. I just want to springboard a little bit off of what Council Member Chung was speaking of. I had an opportunity to sit through the nonprofit grant requests. A number of them are some of these rescue programs. And it became very clear to me that on top of the $2 million that the Humane Society is getting, we're actually forking out a whole lot more than that in spay/neuter programs. And it became very apparent to me that we need to do a better job with that contract and dovetail in some of these rescue programs, and really begin to stretch our dollars that really will move the needle in saving animals and reducing the pet population; because what I keep hearing from every single organization, that's their mission. And I don't want to sound hurtful, but everybody's failing that mission because the trend keeps going up. And I don't want to keep forking out the money and not move the needle. So, I support what Council Member Chung is saying, we really need to revisit how we take care of our pet population on this island and how we make sure we're using our tax dollars wisely. I do have just a couple of questions. You mentioned you have 38 employees. What's the total salary? MR. CHAPMAN: Of the budget, County budget? MS. WHITAKER: No, the entire budget. Speaking off the top of my head, I think combined with Animal Control and— MR. CHAPMAN: Sixty-one percent. MS. WHITAKER: —HIHS, it's something like one point three million. The total budget, which is what she asked for? MR. CHAPMAN: One point two. MS. WHITAKER: One point two. Page 16 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MR. CHAPMAN: With 61 percent of our total. Not County, but total, yeah. MS. LEE LOY: How much? MS. WHITAKER: So 61 percent of the entire budget is salaries. MR. CHAPMAN: Yeah. MS. LEE LOY: So of the two point, I think it's two point two now you folks received from the County, how much is that allocated to salary and wages for you folks? MR. CHAPMAN: It's little over 50 percent, I think. I had it— MS. WHITAKER: I thought you just said 61? MR. CHAPMAN: That's for every—all, HIHS, County. For just the two point, she's talking about just the County contract, two million, two, zero, eight. MS. LEE LOY: So a million dollars of the monies you folks received are going to salary and wages? MS. WHITAKER: Similar a little under the percentages that the Police Department mentioned. But in the article in the paper last week, but it's the biggest percentage of most businesses. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. And then— MS. WHITAKER: Can I add one thing? MS. LEE LOY: Yeah. MS. WHITAKER: And only 10 percent of the entire budget is allocated to the spay and neutering. So 221,000 of two point zero eight, or something. MS. LEE LOY: Is going to spay and neuter, and then a million is going to salary and wages. You also mentioned that you guys currently occupy a County facility, and then you guys are moving to a new facility? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. MS. LEE LOY: Were you folks paying rent? Page 17 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MS. WHITAKER: No. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. And then at your folks' new facility, have you folks taken advantage of the nonprofit exemption status that's provided under the Real Property Tax? MS. WHITAKER: We can take advantage of that when we're actually occupying. Right now, it's a hundred percent. What everybody else's pay. MS. LEE LOY: And then you mentioned 6,700 of volunteer hours. If you had to put a price tag on that, how much would that equate to? MS. WHITAKER: Our auditor—typically says at $10 an hour, completely arbitrary, that would be—what would that be? MS. LEE LOY: Because minimum wage went up. MS. WHITAKER: Sixty-seven thousand. MS. LEE LOY: Minimum wage went up, so— MS. WHITAKER: Right. MS. LEE LOY: About $67,000. MS. WHITAKER: That's correct. MS. LEE LOY: Okay. Alright, thank you. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member Eoff. MS. EOFF: Thank you. So I wanted to—I was thinking about something Mr. Richards said earlier today, on another committee. That when we face problems nothing is really insurmountable as long as people can come to the table. And I feel today that the conversation has improved from where we were; and I think it was budget time last year and the year before, when it seemed a little more adversarial. So, I'm pleased with that. And I think it is because you folks did make some changes to the contract and to the language—some of the meetings that I sat through anyways that were brought up by the community, who was concerned about the Spay and Neuter Program, as well as the seemingly language that incentivize euthanasia, which I think has been taken out of the contract now. So I wanted to thank you, and Major Thomas, and the Police Department, for working through all of that. Page 18 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 I appreciate all of the people who love and take care of animals. I sit on the nonprofit ad hoc committee too, and we need to fund all of those groups as much as we can. We need to do everything we can to increase the spay and neutering programs. I always keep in mind—and I appreciate that the work that you folks do is a lot more than spay and neuter, and you have a multitude of responsibilities under the contract as well as just your personal mission that you've undertaken as HIHS, the Humane Society. So I don't really see the need to—well, I mean it would need to have an update in a few months, but I just appreciate the fact that it seems like everybody's coming closer together. And if we can support the volunteers, if we can support the nonprofits, I think that's our responsibility. Supporting you through the contract with the County is also—we can't do without the Humane Society. So I just want to thank you for the presentation today and Ms. O'Hara for bringing it up. And, I look forward to working with everybody. I happen to be a—I've always been an animal lover. I appreciate everybody's work with every kind of animal, not just the pets we have but the animals that are also here in the wild. I really can't say enough, but I just wanted to thank everybody here. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member Richards. MR. RICHARDS: Thank you, Chair. Couple of quick questions, and then I'll make a few comments. We've heard the kill rate for dogs and cats coming to the shelter. How does that compare nationally? MS. WHITAKER: It depends on what sort of facility it is and what part of the country it is. Dr. Kristina is doing a masters and shelter medicine program. Can you speak to that? DR. HENRICKS: I don't know if I can speak exactly. But exactly— MR. RICHARDS: Ball parks. DR. HENRICKS: Well, just as Donna said, it depends regionally and the type of shelter you are. Because you have your limited admission shelters that are going to have a lot less euthanasia rate; whereas, we are an open admissions shelter, so we take in everything. And, really, our motto is we can't save them all but we save as many as we can, and we do this through the Second Chance Program. Page 19 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 MR. RICHARDS: I'm aware of that. DR. HENRICKS: No, we do it medically. MR. RICHARDS: Give me a number. DR. HENRICKS: A number? MR. RICHARDS: Yeah, give a number. DR. HENRICKS: What number? MR. RICHARDS: Compare what's a ballpark, national kill rate for dogs and for cats. DR. HENRICKS: I don't think there is a number for that. I mean, because like I said, it depends on what type of shelter you are. I mean no -kill shelters, they'll say they're 90 percent live release. MR. RICHARDS: I'm aware of that. But, there are comparables, there have to be. This is a big nation. You haven't looked at any comparables? DR. HENRICKS: I mean like in the southern states you're having a much bigger problem with over -population, and so you're going to see kill rates, as higher -higher, easily. But in the northern states, you're finding a place where they can't even find animals. And we're shipping animals to them because they don't have dogs to adopt. MR. RICHARDS: So on the average, a total number of animals coming through shelters each year is somewhere around 35 million, if I recall correctly. And, we know—how many are euthanized nationally? MS. WHITAKER: About four million. MR. RICHARDS: About four million, okay. Alright. And again, a lot of it is just statistical. Everybody in the room or most everybody knows I'm a veterinarian, and I've been here for a long time as well, and I've worked with people on all sides of the table when it comes to this conversation. As Councilwoman Eoff said, I believe we can get through almost every conversation if we sit down and talk story, and I think we can do that. I think the primary drive is everybody wants to have as much care for animals out there. If we start with that as a foundation, we have conversation. Page 20 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 I like Councilman Chung's idea of sitting down, truly sitting down around a table and talking story. I'm not sure the venue on how to do that. But I would be very happy to participate in that conversation with you, so I offer myself. I'm not sure as a mediator, I'm not sure I'm qualified for that, but as a "talk story." Because, I appreciate Humane Society. It's very, very tough. You've got some big challenges. Some of the other groups, you've got some big challenges too. But, there is a common thread, and if we can work towards that common thread—it's not going to be perfect, it's not going to happen within a year. But I think we can (inaudible). But if we can get more partnerships, more synergy, that comes back to what we're talking about is saving some money for the County, for the community as a whole. So, I think we can actually strive for that. So with that, I don't want to keep the conversations going, but—I mean I appreciate the update, I truly do. I also appreciate the update from the other groups because it's important. And everybody's heart is in the right place, I believe on that one. So with that, I'll yield the floor. Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member O'Hara. MS. O'HARA: Thank you, Chair. And thank you again, folks, for coming forward with all the information; and to all of the testifiers, as well. We've talked a lot, or we've put more focus on the spay and neutering programs, perhaps, then some of the other functions that you perform for the County. Enforcement of animal cruelty is one of your charges, and you do investigations. As I understand it, Humane Society here on Hawaii County operate a bit differently than some of the other counties. You don't have the ability to serve the citations. So you have to work directly with the police, is that correct? MS. WHITAKER: We can cite a limited number of animal welfare cases. MS. O'HARA: Okay. MS. WHITAKER: We can't cite for just anything. If it's related—if something we can't cite for is related to what we need to do in an animal welfare case, we'll call the police. MS. O'HARA: Okay. So you have to work closely with the police? MS. WHITAKER: Yes. MS. O'HARA: And this is why your contract is under the Police Department's budget. And, you work closely with them. Page 21 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 There are other things besides enforcement that we haven't really delved into. That would be nice to bring to the table if we have further discussions, and that is the behavioral and physical evaluation criteria that are used to choose to euthanize versus attempt to adopt. I know this is another controversial topic that we need to make some progress on. Our euthanasia percentage rates are way too high, and we would like to see that reduced over time. I understand your contract is going to be renewed through an addendum that was a result of an RFP (Request for Proposal) that was run four years—five years ago, and this will be the last annual addendum to the contract. There will be a new Request for Proposals going out in 2018, and that is an excellent opportunity to change up things, and through the discussion. So I along with—Mr. Richards has already volunteered as the resident veterinarian. I would like to see that happen and participate if possible in those round -table discussions, if we could create such a thing, to ensure not only are we saving the County money, but we need to bring the kill rate on the dogs and animals that we are seeing, and we also have to increase our efforts with animal welfare in general. I am a big advocate for—I own dogs, and I do have a cat, but I've always been a big advocate for animal welfare. So, let's get the job done. Thank you. MS. WHITAKER: Thank you. CHR. RUGGLES: Council Member David. MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair Ruggles. And I also want to say thank you to the Humane Society and the testifiers. What I see here, especially hearing from Council Member Richards and now Council Member O'Hara, is that I think the needle that Ms. Lee Loy talks about, although it's not about funding, I think the needle on cooperation and collaboration about this very sensitive issue is taking place right now. I really thank Council Members Richards and O'Hara, because I think that will move the needle for everybody. And I really appreciate all your thoughts and seeing you guys again because that demonstrates to me in my mind your willingness to come to the table and to try to resolve this matter in a fair and equitable manner. So I thank you, guys, so much. Mahalo, I yield. CHR. RUGGLES: Any more questions? Okay, well, I just wanted to say thank you for being here. And I wanted to thank all the testifiers for coming out, and thank Council Member O'Hara for putting this on the agenda. I think this is a really important issue. Not just for our island but I know for my constituents, this has been a big issue for them. Really, all the questions that I have already been asked. I agree with everything everyone said. I think this was a very productive discussion. And I hope that Page 22 PSMTC-1 March 21, 2017 moving forward all of you will take the torch on this, or at least one of you will, to make these roundtable discussions happen with Council Members Richards and O'Hara. That being said, can I have motion to file Communication—oh, excuse me, all those in favor of filing Communication 108 please say "aye." Vote on Comm. 108: The motion to close file on Comm. 108 was carried Filed by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. (There were none.) BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (There were none.) CHR. RUGGLES: Can I have motion to adjourn? ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 11:33 a.m., Ms. O'Hara moved to adjourn MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Poindexter and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kanuha, Lee Loy, O'Hara, Poindexter, Richards, and Chair Ruggles - 9. Noes: None. Absent: None. Excused: None. Page 23 PSMTC-1 CHR. RUGGLES : We are adjourned. Thank you. Approved: - A'w Ms. ennifer Ruggles, Chair Public Safety and Mass Transit Committee JR/na 6/ ict/ 17 (Date) March 21, 2017 Page 24