Akron officials are considering spending $1.5 million annually on a new contract with Summit County Animal Control to try to improve the city鈥檚 stray dog problem and capacity issues.
Animal shelters across Northeast Ohio have been grappling with overcrowding issues for years. Akron rescue groups have long expressed concerns about the lack of shelter space in Summit County amid a growing stray dog problem.
The county鈥檚 Humane Society currently only accepts sick or injured animals, and Summit County Animal Control is often full, leaving local rescue organizations to often pick up the slack.
Animals brought in from Akron make up more than 80% of Summit County Animal Control鈥檚 population, said Deborah Matz, outgoing director of Akron鈥檚 law department.
The city鈥檚 previous contract with the county is not sustainable, she said.
鈥淚n the past, we鈥檝e had an agreement with the county of Summit for them to take our animals, and we only paid for three days,鈥� Matz told city council鈥檚 budget committee on June 1.
Animals often stay there for much longer than three days, she said. For example, at least five pit bulls brought in from Akron have been there for 500 days or more.
鈥淭he point to this is that we鈥檙e actually compensating the county more accurately for the service that they鈥檙e providing us,鈥� Matz said.
Over the past five years, the city paid between $15,550 to $50,000 annually to Summit County Animal Control, according to data shared by a City of Akron spokesperson.
Under the proposed new two-year contract, the city would budget $1.5 million each year for Summit County animal control, with two options to renew for an additional two-year term, according to the legislation.
The contract would also give Akron鈥檚 three dog wardens 24-hour access to the county鈥檚 kennel space.
鈥淚 remember when I was still the county law director, there was an incident where the dog was dropped off and let loose in the hallway,鈥� Matz said. 鈥淭o my knowledge, that only happened once, but still, it鈥檚 not the kind of thing that the county鈥檚 willing to take on.鈥�
Some Akron police officers 鈥� who field many of the calls about aggressive dogs or animals running in traffic 鈥� would have access to the kennels, too.
鈥淭he goal for APD is to have each shift commander have an access card, so that the officers can also access those cages,鈥� Matz added.
The city will also put out a request for proposals to find an overflow facility or a reliable rescue organization that can take in dogs when animal control is full, Matz added.
Akron City Council voted to take time to consider the proposal and will vote on it at a future meeting.
