DeKalb County commissioners are considering asking the county's Chief Executive Officer to order an audit of services provided by the nonprofit company that has run the county's Chamblee animal shelter for the past decade.
The commission's County Operations committee last week recommended approval of a resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, which would have an external auditor review animal overcrowding, staffing levels, reporting, and procedures for dealing with stray animals and adoptions.
"Georgia Dept. of Agriculture inspectors have identified problems with the Animal Shelter, including small dog cages, sanitation and housekeeping issues, and clogged air ducts," according to the resolution commissioners are considering.
Ten years ago this month, county officials outsourced animal shelter operations to LifeLine. Since then, animal services have been stretched to "critical capacity," it says.
The audit would "consider efficiency of operations, overcrowding, enforcement of protective measures for animals, flow of operations for quicker animal adoptions, fostering, and rescue transfers, as well as related policies and procedures to provide formal, concrete recommendations for increased efficiency and effectiveness."
"Although direct efforts by Animal Services staff, animal advocacy groups, and volunteers to alleviate the strain have been taken, multiple accounts, media advisories, and memos continuously reported on a severe shelter space crisis and warnings of the possible use of euthanasia to control overcrowding," the resolution states.
LifeLine said in October that it would have to euthanize dozens of dogs every week to reduce the dog population at the shelter to 450.
"What it will take to change the situation most, in the short-term, is simply fewer dogs in the building. We are asking our community to help us achieve those target dog population numbers because, without homes to go to, dogs will be euthanized for space, regardless of health and temperment," LifeLine said at the time.
