CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office will present plans on Wednesday for providing animal control services to county residents living outside of Cleveland.
Those residents have not had animal control services since March 2014, but they do have animal sheltering services through the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Bradley County. The SPCA provides animal pickup services if requested by county law enforcement or emergency responders, but not if requested by residents, according to the organization’s $80,000 annual agreement with the county.
After a number of highly publicized dog attacks, Sheriff Eric Watson addressed the lack of dedicated animal control services in a recent news release.
“Currently, the county has no stray animal confinement or pickup services, and it is only a matter of time until someone else is attacked, maimed and possibly killed by a dog,” Watson said.
The sheriff’s office proposal will address strays and the enforcement of “existing laws concerning animals,” he said.
In November, Capt. Keith Edwards told county commissioners that the department responded to three animal-related calls per day and that it probably would cost close to $300,000 for the sheriff’s office to provide part-time animal pickup services.
The average number of daily calls about animals now falls between seven and 11, Watson said.
Animal control by other means also may be on the table.
The Bradley County Commission recently authorized the county attorney to draw up a request for proposals so as to receive bids from private organizations for animal pickup service.
The commission has also requested to meet with members of the Cleveland City Council to discuss the possibility of restoring the county’s longstanding relationship with Cleveland Animal Control, which provides both animal sheltering and pickup services.
Cleveland Animal Control offered the county an efficient “bundle package,” while paying for animal shelter and control services through separate entities would cost the county more in the long run, Commission Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber said last fall.
In 2013, that arrangement with Cleveland Animal Control ended when the Bradley County Commission and the Cleveland City Council could not agree on the county’s portion of the department’s budget, which was based on the percentage of service calls, animal pickups and drop offs that originated outside of the city.
According to a 2013-2014 proposal, the county would pay $390,576 of $694,607 in projected animal control costs.
The Times Free Press reported two years ago that City Manager Janice Casteel confirmed those figures contained an error due to adding instead of subtracting assorted revenues from the total costs.
The adjusted calculations amounted to a proposed $355,000 price tag for the county.
The projected expenditures for Cleveland Animal Control were $568,696 in 2014-15, representing an overall decrease of 11.6 percent without providing services to residents outside of the city.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.