Middle Concedes on Animal Shelter; New CFO Unanimously Approved

COURT HOUSE – Middle Township repaired its rift with the county animal shelter and approved a five-year agreement unanimously at its July 18 Township Committee meeting.  
The county shelter is 60 percent supported by fees paid by the 15 participating municipalities. This year the formula for calculating a municipality’s share of the cost changed leaving the township with a large increase.
County Animal Shelter Director Judith Davies-Dunhour explained that the new formula is one based on usage, basically animal intakes, rather than population.
The shift, even for a municipality that is the second largest in the county by population, made a big difference. The new calculation raised the bill for Middle from $71,000 in 2015 to $110,000 in 2016.
According to Davies-Dunhour, the county also added fringe benefits for shelter employees to the expenses before allocating the 60 percent to municipal users. She said those fringe expenses had erroneously been left out in the past.
The county also mandated that participating towns use the county spay/neuter program, which Middle claimed upped its costs yet again.
When the numbers came from the county in October, Middle Township faced a $50,000 one-year increase, and an impasse was the result. Finally in June, with no agreement in the dispute, the county closed the shelter to Middle Township animals.
In the agreement as approved July 18, Middle agreed to almost all of the cost increase. It gained some changes that the township believes will give it better access to data on future calculations, more input into shelter operations, an annual recalculation based on usage and a 90-day out annually if the municipality believes an alternative is in the best interest of its taxpayers.
Mayor Michael Clark said he believed that the county shelter was the best solution for the township, but he emphasized his belief that this new agreement should be a stop on the way to reforming the process and setting up the shelter as a county facility funded by a county tax.
Both Committeemen Jeffrey DeVico and Timothy Donohue agreed that the mechanism of charging county municipalities for 60 percent of the shelter costs should be changed.
“When I go to the library, I don’t pay by the book,” said Donohue. The township also “doesn’t pay by the number of individuals incarcerated at the county jail,” he added.
DeVico expressed unhappiness with “the way the county did this.” He has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the county’s decision to change the formula and add the new fringe charges all in one year passing the bill on to the municipalities.
In the end, there was no option. A return to the days when the township used local kennels was unattractive for many reasons.
Any expectation that Middle would enter into an agreement with two other holdouts from the county shelter, Dennis Township, and Woodbine, was deemed unrealistic and likely to result in two underfunded shelters.  The county had the winning hand.
DeVico concluded remarks on the shelter agreement by asking people to keep the township’s homeless individuals in mind. He said he was happy that the township once again had a place for its animals, but pointed to the county’s lack of a facility for the homeless.
New Chief Financial Officer
Within just a few weeks of the resignation of Chief Financial Officer John Clifford, the committee voted to hire his replacement. Susan Quinones was approved by unanimous vote.
Responding to two questions from the public about the speed of the hire, Donohue praised Quinones, who had served as deputy CFO during his first years on township committee. 
Her background and familiarity with the township led to the quick hire, Donohue said. Clifford leaves the position in mid-August.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.