Los Alamitos City Council members renewed an agreement for animal control services with the city of Long Beach during their Monday, June 7 meeting.
The agreement is now extended through June 30, 2012. The Long Beach Animal Care Services agency has provided animal control to the city since 2001. Long Beach also provides animal control services to Seal Beach.
The council had been presented the item at its May 17 meeting but the item was tabled for further study, as council members had concerns regarding licensing fees for altered and unaltered dogs in Los Alamitos as opposed to lower fees in Cerritos and Seal Beach.
Los Alamitos can charge whatever fees it sees fit for such services. The contractual amount paid to Long Beach of $75,512, a 19-percent drop from last year because of proportional share costs, is partially offset by the amount of licensing fees received by the city. Lower fees in some instances would result in Los Alamitos officials having to pay more money out of its coffers.
Council member Gerri Mejia says senior citizens are paying upwards of $70 more for services here as opposed to what Cerritos residents are charged, which she sees as unfair.
“I want to do what is best for our residents because there are some real discrepancies,” Mejia said. “That needs to be discussed.”
In a staff report, it was stated that widespread adjustment of fees would require a fee study, which could have been brought back to council later this year. Council member Troy Edgar said with staff looking at revising the General Plan and the upcoming budget, he didn’t think it was feasible as a time issue.
The council moved unanimously to approve the contract and look into fees that surrounding cities charge for altered and unaltered dogs. In the second year of the agreement, a projected increase in costs of 2.4-percent to $77,324 is expected.
In other news, the council renewed an agreement with the Orange County Transportation Authority for senior meals transportation.
Costs for the service are not to exceed $3,367 for transportation services for senior citizens participating in the Los Alamitos Senior Meals and Services Program. The rate remains the same as last year and is good for 350 vehicle hours of use.
Many Orange County cities contract with OCTA for such services including Cypress and Seal Beach.
