Don't bring animal control in-house

John Rodriguez and Dan Melanson aren't known for agreeing on many subjects, but there is one where they see eye to eye.

Both mayoral candidates — who are currently neck in neck in the polls, trailing behind Brian Bigger — say animal control should not become a service provided directly by city staff.

Bigger cancelled an interview with Northern Life on the subject, a representative saying the candidate was too busy.

The city's animal control services are currently provided by a private contractor, Rainbow District Animal Control.

The city tried twice in the last year to generate interest in bidding on the animal control contract, which cost around $423,000 last year.

When the city added a number of new requirements when it solicited bids for a new contract, Rainbow came in with a bid that was double the price of the former agreement.

Staff revamped the contract, breaking it into two parts, in hopes that some of the more vocal groups involved in caring for unwanted pets would bid on the work, but none did.

So in September, staff asked for permission to finalize a contract with Rainbow. Upset with the lack of competition, councillors directed staff to bring the work in-house if a lower price couldn't be negotiated with the shelter by a Sept. 30 deadline.

Guido Mazza, the city's chief building official, recently said staff are close to finalizing a two-year contract extension with Rainbow.
In a poll conducted for Northern Life by Oraclepoll at the end of September, 48 per cent of respondents said animal control should be provided by the city, 39 per cent said it should be done privately, and 13 per cent said they didn't know.

But Rodriguez and Melanson don't agree with the Sudburians represented in the poll.

Rodriguez said he wouldn't encourage the city to establish its own in-house shelter. “I think the private sector should deliver it,” he said.
Melanson made a similar statement. “I don't think the city should be increasing the size of the bureaucracy unless it's an absolute last resort,” he said.

The situation with the animal control contract is “absolutely ridiculous,” and shows there's something fundamentally wrong with the city's tendering process, Melanson said.

“Either there's an issue with regards to people being able to meet the qualifications to put the bid in, or there's a financial burden up front that precludes people from putting in a bid,” he said.

Melanson said the city should streamline the process and then re-tender the contract.

Rodriguez, however, said he feels the city has “done due diligence” by changing the bid and attempting to attract more bidders.

He said he's not sure what enhancements were added, but said the extra money might be worth it if it's in the interests of the animals.

Rainbow District Animal Shelter's tenure as the city's animal control provider has been controversial, with some alleging staff mistreat the animals under their care.

Rodriguez said he received many of these complaints as mayor from 2006 to 2010, mostly from the same individual, and in response made a surprise visit to the animal shelter.

“I did not see scrawny animals,” he said. “I did not see animals that were abused with sores or any of those things. So I was satisfied as mayor that there may be other reasons why people were complaining, but it had nothing to do with abuse.”

-With files from Darren MacDonald