>> i think that what this really does and points to as well is i am glad that there is more organizizing in the community and going on around the animal welfare and issues and funding in particular, and what we have seen as the colleagues can attest is during that the budget process and whether it is with the board and it is, and the rule of the squeaky wheel and we see that the subject areas and the budget where the strong organizing and the community tend to do well in the budget and i would just encourage those who were interested and improving something around the animal welfare issues to be extremely organized and vocal and participation during the budget process and because that really has a significant impact, and i think on the mayor and on the board in terms of making sure that priorities are actually getting addressed. >> for the next steps we need to finalize the planning and determine what is the best fit in order to provide a modern

facility that meets the needs of the animal and refine our own work load and look at best practice and smart practices and talk to our partners regionally and see what is the opt mal level of resources to provide for the animals within the city and we need to submit the budget and we will do so in february. and we will work with the mayor's office and supervisors through june, and july, and in order to finalize the budget for acc. >> okay. >> thank you, >> thank you, so much for the presentation. >> okay. >> supervisor weiner and tang, if there are no other presentations, let's open this up for public comment. >> i think that before we get to the public comment, the one last statement is stevens from the animal welfare commission is here, and could speak for just a few minutes. and a brief statement and we will go to public comment. >> hi. >> good morning. >> animal care and control is a

important agency for the animal and people as well. the under funded and they are under staffed yet they do a lot of good things in spite of all of that. there is so much more that they could be doing, if they were properly staffed and funded. for example, they could administer programs to peer shelter with the kids at the juvenile custody center and help the adult and youth, and more out reach to help to row exist with the wild life or a data base of abusers to keep them from adopting pets. and if they had adequate staff and added funding. acc is not just about animals people who abuse or neglect animals also often abuse and neglect children and spouses. and investigating all reports of animal abuse and neglect will save human lives as well. if acc has enough staffing to do so. acc is crucial to the city

disaster planning and another animal commission and dr. o'neil could not be here but she sent you a letter outlining the importance of the work on the disaster animal response team training and for the building that holds the acc staff and animals is not rebuilt. we expect acc to shelter the animals if we find ourselves temporarily forced out of our homes and that become harder if not impossible to do if the shelter cannot be used because it is no longer safe, please find a way to rebuild the acc facility. and the control of work and the commission advises you on the animal issues and do not provide the oversight of the acc and it does come up that involve the agency. >> and whether san francisco should mandate that it be a no kill shelter and no adoptable animal is euthanized including those who need behavior or medical help before they can be adopted for two years we heard presentations from advocates and organizations on all sides

of the issue, no kill is a goal that everyone wants and san francisco is close. to be successful no kill requires among other things, extensive public out reach and education, and behavior training in the shelter, all of which require adequate staffing and managing to carry out, something that acc does not now have and has not had for years, acc is an open shelter ask required to accept any animal that comes in the door, many shelters in the country are not, they can and do refuse to adopt animals. and ultimately, the commission decided to take no action. while encouraging no kill as a goal we do not feel that the city could or should mandate it for acc unless and until, acc had adequate fubding and staff to do all of the programs and out reach needed for it to succeed. they did not have that then and they don't have it now, it is a necessary and useful goal but not a mandate.

given full staffing and more funding, acc might not become a no kill without any mandate. the role of the animal shelter should be held by a city agency not a private organization and i am glad to say that is the case in san francisco. we need accountability and transparency and that is easier with public organizations please insure that acc has adequate funding and staff to help the people and the animals of san francisco give them the funding they need to be fully staffed and add more to the programs. the greatness of a nation and the moral progress can be measured by the way that the animals are treated as gandhi said. thank you. >> so, could we open up this for public comment? >> yes. and i do have public comment cards and i will call a number of names, public comment, and mr. chairman will be two minutes. okay. >> and you don't have to speak in the order that i call you,

but if you folks could line up that will be great. >> all right, my name is brandy and i am the director of advocacy for the sfpca and i thought that it would be useful to use the information so that we can make sure that we are all on the same page and the san francisco spca has a pact with acc and pursuant to which we take any healthy dog or cat that acc offers to us and we also regularly go above and beyond the terms of the pack by taking every adoptable dog or cat with a treatable medical condition as well as those with behavior problems that we can

address. the number one destination for dogs and cats, entering acc is the san francisco spca. at the same time, thanks to the prevention programs the number of dogs and cats that are entering acc have delined ten percent in the last ten years alone, these two shelter system is not opt mal for animals or for their guardians. and transferring the animals between the two shelters greatly increases the stress on the animals which could ex-sas bait the problems and increases the risk of sickness and decide, and confuses the guardians that are unsure of where to go, we found that in many cases, but they are unsure what free or subsidizes severs are available for them. the point is to get the animals

with the guardians if a loving home and to keep them there. and but by offering the services available to san francisco, sfca, for example, our subsidized vet care and many are able to keep their animals in the loving homes. this is the best possible out come for everyone involved. and we believe that there are hundreds, if not thousands of animals, that could be prevented if the guardians knew of the services available right across the street to them at the san francisco sbca. and we look forward to improving our partnership.

>> when the acc closed down on sunday ask monday we did not want the animals to be impacted and so we surrendered the services and opened it seven days a week and we became the open door shelter on these days and we did not turn away, any dog or cat that was being surrendered by san francisco residents. although the acc has reopened on sunday and mondays, we have kept the ex-expanded services in place to reduce the confusion and ease the burden and we are prepared to go much further to help. and we became, and we are willing to be the open door shelter, seven days a week, and

handle all public surrenders and more importantly we are willing to do this at no cost to the city. our hope is that it will free acc to the time of handling public surrenders something that they are not required to do by law and focus on the safety and cruelty investigations by working together, we can stamp out the city and make it an even better place for animals. >> good morning, supervisors my name is susanna and i come wearing three hats today and i am a vet, and i am a member of the commission of animal control and welfare, and i am, the neighborhood emergency response team coordinator for glen park. and i would like to thank my supervisor weiner, for initiating this conversation which i think is long overdue,

and particularly germane now when it is not budget season. i am here today as a strong supporter of san francisco's animal care and control. and i am here to ask you to increase the funding for this chronically under funded and critically important city organization. as a vet, and a member of the commission of animal control and welfare, i believe that acc could do more good for more animals if it had additional field staff, and the resources to both develop and expand programs and to promote more adoptions. and as a coordinator my number one priority is to facility and encourage my glen park neighbors to plan for the next earthquake and include their pets. i am asking you to plan for the

future, by building a new shelter before the next earthquake occurs. >> my family and many members of my family have adopted dogs over the years from acc and i have had the opportunity to sit in that lobby for about at least 20 times. and to use some gut language for a second, i am blown away. i am blown away by i have seen equanas come in pigeons and rats and dogs and cats and snakes and the officers and the staff at acc should be cloned, they treat every animal like

their own child. and it is astonishing, and it is astonishing also, to, i have learned not too long ago, about the shoe string budget that the acc has and in all due respect it is still astonishing what they do aa shoe string as a professional in the criminal justice system i also want to share with you that i have had the good fortune to collaborate with miss cats and her staff and bringing in their officers, to share the fire reaching effects of animal abuse and many of you know that we start a violence program in our jails years ago and the officers talk about the nexus between domestic violence and animal abuse and teaching the men, the far-reaching effects of that. and we can do so much more and helping the animals and all citizens if they are on the acc is on a level playing field. please help this agency become

that much more effective thank you. >> thank you very much. >> next speaker? >> good morning, my name is julie johnson and i am from sick san francisco and i want acc to be well funded and however any discussion about operational and budgetary concerns must consider the ways to save more than san franciscan mals as decreasing the number of animals euthanized too many animal and not much money and staff i will argue this this is a budget management issue not a crisis, san francisco has one of the lowest per capita intakes of animals in the u.s. and also one of the best funded cities for animal and shelter animals and acc budget has increased in the five years and it currently has an adopted budget of 5.6 million, despite this increase it has not inmoved and by this

the animalwise treatable conditions continue to be killed at acc and almost one in four dogs that enter acc do not leave alive that is shocking. to better understand the trend we did a public records request and reviewed that the dogs killed from january to june, of the dogs killed the fast majority were young adults and pit bulldogs, this represents a failure in our shelter, the mass killing of pit bulls will not make them go away, as you know, san francisco passed specific legislation requiring mandatory spay and neuter, this passed in 2005, here we are in 7 years later and now telling us that there is an increase in dog intake it is possible that this legislation has a very negative effect on acc. >> thank you, next speaker? >> good morning, thank you so much for calling this hearing. my name is bobby lang and i am

advocate for animals. they take in all animals from san francisco regardless of their health or adoptbility and regardless of the budget and resources it provides vital services for san francisco voiceless population and animals truly have no voice, and they cannot call 911 and say that they are being starved or abused or neglected and cannot ask for shelter, they can depend on the department for warm bed and food and a second chance at life, i had the pleasure of volunteering last year, providing exercise training and enrichment for dogs waiting to be adopted every time i entered the shelter i felt the sadness for the animals that i saw, thededer guardians passed away or sick in the hospital or those who are under going medical and evaluation whose lives hung in the balance those who are so ill or beaten and abused who needed to be released from their pain and suffering and those waiting for

their forever home. i was thankful that they were safe and being taken care of by the control and staff and volunteers, without this department, most of these animals will be left in their homes or in the streets. however, the department current budget and the criens in dog intake with that, fact, and animal care and control cannot adequately carry out the responsibility to the city's forgotten animals the other homeless population, please increase the animal care and control budget. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> before you go, let me call a few more names, belinda rider. kelley linqist. jane, greenwald. and jennifer jamison, shaft, and brooks, jamie ray. daniel, yakaguchi?

? >> richard pastor and kathleen mcgar and then elizabeth young. go ahead. >> good afternoon, supervisors my name is ean and i was born in san francisco and i am a resident of san francisco and i am a small animals volunteer at acc, and one of the things that i just wanted to come here to stress, especially since this is especially about budget matters s how creatively, the staff of the shelter uses volunteers and often uses them in ways that reduce ex-spend thank youers and reduce the need of considering to put a animal down, and they will send that home with someone like me and it will be cared for and and the pups will be born and when the time comes they will

be brought back to the shelter and we will adropt them out. and this, of course, reduces expenses at the shelter and i just think that the shelter is to be congratulated for how creatively they use the volunteers and the last thing that i want to say very quickly is just thinking personally about interacting with the government, i often think about going to the dmv and how unpleasant that is. and when people come into the shelter, they often bring their children and i know that the supervisors have talked about their positive experiences. it is a pleasant place to come. and the animals are clearly well cared for. and you always hear the laughter of children in there and much of that is due to the volunteers and what happens with the volunteers is due to the professionals that work there, thank you so much. >> thank you, very much >> i also want to thank tang and weiner for bringing this to

the floor. >> i am a 36 year resident of san francisco and a volunteer for the past eight years at the san francisco, animal and control. and my thunder has been stolen. and so i will try to summarize, one of the things that i have observed for 30 years in san francisco i worked for one of staoet agency and working for that agency i had a lot of contact with the other city agencies and the thing that i have observed in the san franciscan , animal care and control, is the stewardship. and they should be commended for that and there is no flat in their budget and they operate as best as they can despite that.

you

>> the cat needed to have the teeth removes and they declined that cat, and put on death row and another one had stones and

was turned down and another cat turned down. and i just, i am not and in favor of a group that cherry picks its animals especially bringing in animals from out of county, and in favor of being the only animal shelter in the city, thank you. >> i am actually an animal care attendant at animal control but i am here as a private citizen and it is interesting all of the data and all of the statistics that have been put out and the presentation. but, let me tell you as supervisor weiner mentioned, you don't really realize everything that goes on until you visit our shelter. i have been there for six years and every day is a struggle and some days when we need to have 7 people working there are only four of us and we all have to

overlook all of the animal's needs from medical issues from behavior issues, and socializing them and making sure that they are okay and they receive their basic needs, as well as providing services for the taxpayers, and let me tell you that every day that i go in, it is just, a new day, but, we do need as a new day and we don't know what to expect, on that day. and some days can be a bad day and other days can be great days. but, we do need a lot more resources, and to provide these services to the animals as well as the citizens, thank you. >> next speaker. thank you. >> hello, my name is mike, and i am an animal control officer, and i love my job. and my co-workers are volunteers, and i love our department and we do a lot of great things, and we do a lot

of difficult things. and when we don't have the resources that we need, it makes our job and our responsibilities much more difficult. thank you. >> next speaker. >> my name is jennifer and i am the founder of the rescue in san francisco and the supervise chair of the animal control and much of what i want to say has been said and i want to lend my voice, acc had already a huge task ahead of it and then, in to the effect, when the dog licensing and the dog permit, and the dog walking permit, and rules, which, i think, added, well, to what was even a heavier burden to what was already difficult for them, the bottom line is that we cannot ask a municipal agency in

charge of or animals to do the breathe stroke if we are going to tie their hands behind their backs and a no kill is a hot topic and there is no question that it is a desirable goal. but to do the better work, the agency, must must must have a competitive and better budget, we owe it to the animals of san francisco, and especially if we claim to love them as well as we do, thank you. >> thank you, very much. >> next speaker. >> hello, my name is belinda rider i am the manager of behavior and training at san franciscan mal care and control. and i am here to please ask you to properly staff and fund our city shelter, we do a lot of the resources we have. and behavior and training, we are 100 experience funded by friends of animal care and control. we are creative with the money

that we have, just two examples are the fetch program. that is a program that provides enrichment and training, and rehabilitation for any dogs that come to the shelter in terms of a custody hold, or an investigation hold. we have incredible volunteers that staff that program, and however, we also need the staff resources to over see that kind of program. we are also very creative last year with our wolf program, and i am not sure that if you remember that program, it was collaboration between us and the mayor's office. and we worked with the previously homeless, individuals, to pair them up with the dogs that needed some behavior work. and so again, i am just pleased

making a plea to fund the behavior and training department at the city shelter. we need it and that is it, thank you. >> i am a long term cat rescuer and i have trapped 2,000 cats and i have volunteered at both and i admire both organizations greatly, however,. my pitch today, is that i do not think that acc is the right agency to expand function to go beyond its mandate. and i think that the thing that needs to happen is if the fsba for the rescue and the project non-profit to step up.

and for many reasons, they are much cheaper, when acc was founed it saved money, but the reason for two adoption agencies on the same street was that it was thought that they did not get salaried and you would not be able to recruit good staff without doing adoptions. this is now slipped. with high pensions and high salaries, it is cheaper and more efficient to do the things through the non-profit and more competitive and they don't have the moral hazard of deciding what compassionate programs. and what should not. and they can see it as a regional problem, and they can take animals from out of county. and animal care and control does this. against its mandate and so, please, reduce the budget,