District of Summerland council has rejected a proposal to eliminate its animal control department – which is currently provided by contracted staff from the City of Penticton – in a cost-cutting measure that would save local taxpayers roughly $90,000 annually.
Coun. Doug Patan introduced a notice of motion at the previous meeting of council relating to animal control services in the community.
"The background on it is at a recent meeting that was organized by the Summerland Civic Engagement Society, the discussion was focused on the District of Summerland services," he said. "The message that was taken out of this meeting was there was an appetite for service reduction cuts that correlate to property tax increases.
"The proposal I'm bringing forward would actually come into effect Jan. 1 of 2026 due to contractual obligations that we have."
The district's animal control department budget for 2025 is approximately $90,000, which works out to the equivalent of a one per cent property tax increase, said Patan.
"We do collect money in regards to dog licensing, that is about $35,000 a year," said Patan. "My request is that we cancel the contract with our animal control."
If the majority of council were to agree, he also suggested the district stop being in the business of handling dog licensing, which would lower the overall property tax increase by 0.5 per cent, he said.
Coun. Richard Barkwill said he agreed that the District should be reviewing the whole dog control issue.
"The contract is a lot of money for a little activity, especially when it's based out of Penticton," he said. "The response times are not good. I could support moving something in-house. I suppose there has to be a qualification in order to provide that service. Or else we just don't have that service.
"But it has always been deemed necessary and there's always been dog licenses around, since at least 1910, because I've got a 1910 dog tag. I'm amazed that dogs needed to be licensed back then when there was like six people in Summerland."
Barkwill asked aloud if there "is a compromise somewhere in this proposal to come back with some sort of amendment in our enforcement process that maybe has a cost that is commensurate with the amount we collect in fees."
Barkwill said he would support hiring another bylaw officer if the $90,000 contract were cancelled and the additional officer would ensure better dog control efforts in Summerland.
Coun. Marty Van Alphen said he appreciated Patan bringing forward the motion as he's always interested in ideas that can reduce property taxes to local residents and he's skeptical about the costs involved compared to results achieved.
"To some degree, I can definitely support this," he said. "We've had this discussion before about bringing it in internally. A part of that would be bringing in a dog pound. We would need a facility to house the dogs. It's not just the cost to the person, but the infrastructure ... and that's why we kept going external."
From reading social media posts online, Van Alphen said from what he's seen lately "that Facebook does a better job than the dog control people do. How many posts have I seen on Facebook recently saying 'dog at large' and the next thing you know 'thank you so much' for holding my dog.
"I don't think it's a necessity and I would support councillor Patan's motion."
Coun. Janet Peake said she's also in favour of listening to any idea that would reduce property taxes.
"I understand that we have looked, at other times, and it is possible to do the (dog) pound and pay per night if you have a dog that's taken away, but I do believe there is some expectation to having dogs that are a problem looked after in some way by the District of Summerland," she said. "I would uphold the idea of examining this again and allowing some feedback from our community to see how they feel about this service being offered in either this fashion or another fashion.
"I'm just not quite sure about the idea of just taking away ... that you don't license your dog. I think the responsibility of dog owners is to look after them and have them safely on your own property and dog licenses do allow that kind of tracking of animals."
Barkwill said cutting the animal control contract has been discussed more than once in the past and council has always decided to keep the contract for various reasons.
If the contract were to be cancelled, there would have to be a location or dog pound in town to handle dogs, so maybe district staff could initiate discussions with an organization like Critteraid, a longtime animal shelter in Summerland.
"Then there's a sort of mutual benefit," he said. "We're getting it local and getting it cheaper."
Brad Dollevoet, director of development services, informed council there are currently two service contracts currently in place relating to dog owners - one for dog control enforcement with the City of Penticton, which is offered by a private business and a second contract for kennel access only at a cost of $10,000, also with the City of Penticton.
"There are a couple of options there with contract management moving forward," he said.
Patan reiterated his only intent in bringing forward this motion was not to get dog owners riled up, but to look at a reasonable way to reduce taxes for all Summerland ratepayers.
"That is where my focus is going to be for this year," he said.
Mayor Doug Holmes said he also understands the principle behind Patan's motion to eliminate the dog control contract, however, "I think we need to understand the real world consequences" of eliminating a service that has long been provided.
Holmes gave an example of a couple who get into a domestic dispute and the woman leaves for a shelter and the man gets arrested, leaving a dog behind in an empty home.
"What do you do with the dog?" he asked rhetorically. "What happens if you don't have a service, you don't have somebody to come and get it. That's a real example that happened here."
Holmes said he would support having senior staff prepare a report on implications or options should the animal control contract be cancelled.
"But I think until we know the actual consequences of eliminating a service altogether, that I really can't support it until I know exactly what we're getting ourselves into."
Council voted in favour of a motion that staff come back with a detailed report on options on how the District of Summerland handle dog control and dog licensing should the contract with the City of Penticton be cancelled. The report will be brought back before council before the end of June.