DEPARTMENT: Animal Care Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Heber Lefgren
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
An Ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the City Code entitled Animals and Chapter 20 entitled Municipal Court and providing for criminal penalties and publication; and confirming the continuation of the current Animal Care Services Strategic Plan.
SUMMARY:
An Ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the City Code entitled Animals and Chapter 20 entitled Municipal Court and providing for criminal penalties and publication; and confirming the continuation of the current Animal Care Services Strategic Plan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In September 2011, the Animal Care Service Department (ACS) updated its Strategic Plan by focusing on three key Departmental Priorities: (1) Enhanced enforcement; (2) Controlling the stray animal population; and (3) Increasing the City's Live Release rate. In FY 2015, ACS added a fourth Strategic Priority to engage and educate the community.
During the February 8, 2017 "B" Session, ACS provided City Council with an update on key ACS FY 2017 initiatives. One of those initiatives included revising and updating the Chapter 5 of the San Antonio City Code.
Between February and June 2017, ACS held nine community meetings across the City and collected over 1,000 surveys from the public and stakeholders. The surveys provided community input regarding local animal laws and the current applicability of the ACS Strategic priorities.
During the June 15 "B" Session, ACS provided City Council with an update on the ACS engagement process and presented the survey results to council. ACS also presented to City Council for discussion preliminary recommended revisions to the San Antonio City Code based on the received feedback.
Between June and August 2017, ACS held five additional community meetings across the City to receive feedback on the preliminary recommended revisions to Chapter 5 of the San Antonio City Code. During that time...
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