I am glad we have people in Jefferson County that are willing to spend their time and effort working with stray and unwanted animals. Many people donate funds to nonprofits that do this work, and I hope they continue.
Based on what was reported in The Boulder Monitor on Feb. 2, our County Commission is planning to place on the ballot a levy to fund a nonprofit to the tune of $265,365 per year for services the county is currently getting for almost no cost. This levy will pay $6,634 dollars for each of the 40 animals the Animal Shelter and Care Committee currently handles each year. These animals are currently handled at a cost of $125 each when they are transferred to Lewis & Clark County. It is impossible to reasonably spend $6,634 per year caring for a stray dog or cat. We have people in Jefferson County living on less than that and we are asking these folks to pay for these animals by having their taxes increased. I think people are more important than pets no one wants.
Our county commissioners need to take a breath and then figure out, in detail, exactly what shelter and care services we need for Jefferson County. Having done that, they need to write a request for proposals for these services, and then get bids (which you cannot limit to nonprofits any more than you can limit bids to black women). The contract, when funded, needs to go to the lowest competent bidder. There is no reason to believe this would require a mill increase.
