STAFFORD – Local government authorities awarded a contract to A-Academy Animal Control that stands to lighten the load for the township’s remaining Animal Control Officer, rather than act as her replacement.
The Mayor and Council emphasized the short-term nature of the solution for an emergent problem. Staffing shortages within the township’s animal control department resulted in the need for outside assistance for both domestic animals and wildlife control issues. The A-Academy contract runs through the end of 2022.
Stafford Animal Control provides services within the local community, as well as to Barnegat Light, Beach Haven, Harvey Cedars and Long Beach Township.
“We had two full time animal control officers and a number of per diem officers,” Mayor Greg Myhre said at the August 9 Township Council meeting. “One of them (full time employees) left the department …and in the meantime, the second officer who was the remaining one, found a different opportunity about a week ago.”
The resignations of Kelly Karch as the Animal Control Officer and Ashley Donofrio as Assistant Animal Control Officer potentially left the Township ill-equipped to respond to the call volume related to animal control and animal cruelty complaints.
Karch agreed to stay on in her position as Stafford’s Animal Control Officer last week after the A-Academy contract was awarded. Although she’d submitted her resignation, Karch had not yet stopped working for the municipality.
“The plan is for Kelly to be the lead animal control officer in 2023,” Myhre said. “We are going to make sure we have the resources that are necessary and also fit within the town budget.”
Under the current personnel structure, Heidi Michael serves as both the department head for Animal Control and the Fire Department.
Business Administrator Matthew von der Hayden maintained the workload is too extensive for one Animal Control Officer.
“With Kelly being here, A-Academy would basically supplement what was Ashley’s position,” von der Hayden said. “This would be for the short term until the end of the year. This would allow us time to go out and advertise the position and find a suitable candidate for the new year.”
Per diem employees will continue to take on assignments to meet staffing needs.
Animal advocates stormed the Stafford Township Council meeting to protest the local governing body’s decision to contract an outside service for animal control. Many not only offered support for Karch and Donofrio, but also expressed concern that government leaders sought to permanently move to a privatization model.
Councilman Paul Krier requested removal of the item from the consent agenda and initiated a discussion concerning the controversial resolution.
A consent agenda is a list of uncontroversial decisions that can all be voted on at once to save time. By splitting it from the consent agenda, it brought the animal control issue to the floor for discussion.
Krier first commended Karch and Donofrio for their work ethic and said one served the town for ten years, and the other, seven.
“When I looked up what the salaries we were paying for their positions,” Krier said, “I was astonished to see how low they were when compared to other towns in the area.”
Kreir likened the work of the animal control officers to that of police officers, who sometimes work under negative circumstances and still maintain a strong customer service attitude. The councilman insisted that animal control officers needed to be paid and treated as professionals.
“We’re working on the compensation aspect,” shared von der Hayden in an interview after the council meeting. “We’re working things through with the collective bargaining unit as far as having a new agreement in place for January 1, 2023.”
The governing body opened up the floor for public comment regarding authorization of A-Academy Animal Control’s contract. At the time, those who spoke believed the contracted company would be solely responsible for animal control services in Stafford and the other named communities. (Karch was still an employee and had not yet decided to rescind her resignation.)
Linda Cook, President of the Friends of Southern Ocean County Animal Shelter said she found the situation upsetting. She regularly works with A-Academy and wondered how their two sole employees could handle Beachwood, Brick, Island Heights, Lacey, Little Egg, Tuckerton and Stafford.
“It’s a real shame that you have lost two of the best employees you could possibly have,” said Cook. “My main concern is the immediate future.”
Cook also questioned the outside animal control company’s promise to also take care of wildlife. She related an experience in another community where that wasn’t the case.
“I know of an instance that just happened when they were called when a raccoon was hit by a car,” Cook shared. “The animal was not killed but was paralyzed and Academy’s answer was they weren’t coming as they (the raccoon) would die eventually.”
Patricia Romano, who’s lived in Manahawkin for 27 years, claimed the animal control officers were not only underpaid but also worked in a hostile work environment. Romano expressed her outrage at Academy charging $175 to go out on calls outside designated hours.
After three years of what she called dedicated service as a per diem animal control officer, Jody Sidote said she was abruptly released from her position. However, the business administrator disputed Sidote’s assertion, referencing the resolution process for employee termination that had not occurred.
“I was told the township would be revisiting the contract in late October,” Sidote said. “I would then know something regarding whether or not I was still needed.”
The mayor confirmed days after the meeting that Sidote’s per diem status remains unchanged. Sidote will continue to work in that same capacity.
Assumptions that the council intended to privatize animal control led former Councilman George Williams to rattle off some numbers and estimate the town would spend $265,000 annually to do so.
Myhre reiterated the solution was a temporary one and did not respond to the disparity in what Williams said was a cost benefit analysis based on five calls a day.
“We had two employees who left and have a need to fulfill,” shot back Myhre. “We got a contract from a private company that’s able to fill this gap.”
Karch joined the mayor as part of a video briefing, providing some insight into animal control operations as they now stand.
“Academy has been helping out right now in the interim until we are able to find some qualified candidates,” Karch explained. “…Chris is their full-time animal control officer and he’s been doing a great job.”
Karch said she was aware of concerns that Academy’s vehicles didn’t have air conditioning. She was able to see one of the vehicles herself and felt it was efficient for animal transport.
While others at the council meeting couldn’t say enough about Karch’s dedication to the animal population, the Animal Control Officer exuded passion when she described her work.
“We care about our people,” summed up Myhre after the briefing. “We care about our animals.”
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