STEVEN MARTINEZ'S OPPORTUNITY AS A FELLOW

The role of transporting sick, injured, or displaced pets to the York County SPCA typically falls to an Animal Control Officer (ACO). ACOs are contracted by local municipalities to collect free-roaming pets and transport those pets to the York County SPCA. Unfortunately, many York County ACO providers cannot fulfill their obligations (or are retiring), and several municipal managers have asked the York County SPCA to take over Animal Control contracts. Our barrier to providing these services is the challenge of starting a new Field Services Department. We are not set up to manage Animal Control services. An important step towards exploring the opportunity to establish an Animal Control Department is to understand better how this essential service is administered.

 The funding from my York Federal Fellows project has enabled me to visit and learn from Animal Control administrators across the country who are seen as leaders in Animal Control Field Services. Specifically, I used the fellowship funding to help pay for travel and lodging to visit two leading national Animal Control service providers located in Knab, Utah, and Pasco County, FL. During those visits, I met with and shadowed Animal Control Officers, learned best practices, and brought that information back to York County.

Afterward, I wrote a business plan that outlined the resources needed and barriers to address should the York County community want the YCSPCA to take on our county’s Animal Control efforts. The plan provided York County stakeholders with the vision and details they need to financially support our Field Services Department and provide stakeholders with Animal Control solutions per the demands of our local communities. I presented this plan at a recent Municipal Managers Association Meeting, which kickstarted conversations.