Putnam County Animal Shelter Director Jennifer Tracy said the local municipalities may need to increase funding for the shelter going forward to cover operating costs.
The Cookeville-Putnam Animal Control Board’s $722,000 new fiscal year budget includes an $80,000 deficit. Tracy said she calculates and requests funding from Algood, Baxter, Cookeville, and Monterey based on how much funding each city provides and the percentage of animals coming from each area.
“I think it’s the fairest way that I can think of,” Tracy said. “We are seeing some more contribution from those areas than we have in the past, but I think they can only expect that cost will go up and that our request will go up accordingly.”
Tracy said the shelter uses funding from local governments strictly for payroll. Tracy said the workload for the shelter is growing, and the shelter will likely need additional part-time staff sooner rather than later.
“I didn’t factor it into the cities contributions as we may need some more part-time help,” Tracy said. “It’s not a definite thing, which is why I didn’t factor it in, but if it turns out we do need that part-time help, then I would ask them to contribute more to cover the cost of that because it is a payroll-related thing.”
Tracy said the shelter’s budget has increased expenditures due to the building’s maintenance needs. Tracy said the deficit they are facing will be covered by reserves.
“You know, we are having some systems and equipment that need repairs and replacement, and for a facility like this those pieces of equipment can be costly, but we are fortunate in that we’ve got a little bit of wiggle room in our reserves to help cover those additional costs,” Tracy said.
The animal shelter’s budget must still be approved by the County Commission and Cookeville City Council.
