CLARIFICATION – Updated 12 p.m. Sept. 10
I have been informed that the Henderson County Humane Society did not give 90-day notice of ending its contract with the City of Athens at Monday’s City Council meeting.
I checked with the Athens city administrator and found out that the letter presented to the City Council in open session by a Humane Society representative did not contain a 90-day notice, but rather a short letter saying the city’s amount of funding was unacceptable.
Because written notice is required to break the contract, then officially no notice was given.
Humane Society board member Dave Jensen did tell the council during the meeting that the Humane Society was giving 90-day notice in anticipation of the city not meeting its funding request. He said the Humane Society specifically picked that venue — the public hearing on the budget — in order to give the notice.
I have spoken with multiple city officials, and they believed they were receiving 90-day notice that night and even discussed during the meeting the process for possibly amending the budget during the 90-day time frame.
Corrections reflecting this clarification were made in the story below.
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The Henderson County Humane Society is asking the City of Athens for more money.
The Humane Society is asking the city to take on 25 percent of the cost for running the shelter. They are also asking the county to provide 25 percent while they provide 50 percent.
According to a report in the Athens Review, last month Humane Society representatives told Commissioners’ Court “(t)he cost of feeding, housing, medicating, and caring for the animals, along with keeping the office running, was $247,000 in 2013.”
During Monday night’s regular meeting, the Humane Society gave the Athens City Council 90-day notice of the cancellation of its contract with the city in anticipation of the council saying no to their request. the Human Society warned the Athens City Council that it will give 90-day notice of the cancellation of its contract with the city if its funding request was not approved.
The comments came during a public hearing on the 2014-2015 budget.
If the contract ends, the city will have to find somewhere else for animal services.
According to Humane Society board member Dave Jensen, the city has been providing 8 percent of the annual cost, the county 16 percent, and the Humane Society 75 percent.
City officials disputed the numbers, saying the city also provides utilities that substantially increases it’s share. Even with that, however, the city does not provide 25 percent of the funding.
A representative from the Cleveland Armory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison was on hand and told the council he didn’t know how the Humane Society managed to survive on its current funds.
The council went ahead with the first reading of the proposed budget for next year, but council members Tres Winn and Joe Whatley indicated at least an interest in revisiting the Humane Society issue.
The Henderson County Humane Society did not give the city of Athens a 90 day notice at Monday night’s meeting. The Henderson County Humane Society spokesperson David Jensen told the city at the council meeting Monday evening, if there was not an adjustment to the amount presently in the budget to reflect Henderson County Humane Society request originally than the Henderson County Humane Society would have to give the city a 90 day notice of vacating the shelter. The city was then handed a letter that stated that be present 2015 budgeted amount was inadequate and unacceptable.
I checked with the city and it turns out you are correct … the letter Mr. Jensen handed to the city during the meeting simply said the amount was unacceptable. And since the contract requires a written notice to break the contract, then no notice was given.
However, Mr. Jensen did verbally tell the council that the Humane Society was giving 90-day notice in anticipation of the city not meeting its funding request. He said the Humane Society specifically picked that venue — the public hearing on the budget — in order to give the notice. The city believed it was being given 90-day notice as evidenced by the discussion about whether to approve the first reading of the budget, the questions by council members Tres Winn and Joe Whatley on how to proceed, and the advice from the city administrator to pass the budget and then come back and do an amendment if necessary because the council had 90-days in which to act.
I will correct the story, but I stand by what I first reported. The Humane Society most definitely told the city council it was giving 90-day notice even if it didn’t make the action official.