Good morning pet advocates! With the elections finally behind us, it’s time to assess where we stand. First, thank you to everyone who worked to get animal friendly County Commissioners elected. We accomplished our goal! We now have 5 Commissioners elected who support positive change at GCAC. The Genesee County Board of Commissioners will look like this on January 1, 2015: 1) Bryant Nolden – Brand new Commissioner, high level of interest, dog lover 2) Brenda Clack – Has historically voted against positive change 3) Jamie Curtis – Has historically voted for positive change, committed to progress, strong advocate for the animals 4) John Northrup – Has historically voted against positive change 5) Mark Young – Has historically voted for positive change, committed to progress, strong advocate for the animals 6) Tony Brown – Has historically voted for positive change, committed to progress, strong advocate for the animals 7) Mike Lynch – Brand New Commissioner, high level of interest, dog lover 8) Ted Henry – Has historically voted against positive change 9) Pegge Adams – Has historically voted against positive change, has denied obvious problems, has been highly destructive, etc. So by our count, the animal friendly Commissioners from Districts 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 make up a majority. Bryant Nolden and Mike Lynch are new though, and while we feel their interest and commitment are genuine, we will soon see how they honor their commitments regarding GCAC. In addition to the great news on the Commissioner front, Genesee County voters also approved a millage for GCAC. Right now, the County spends between $1 Million and $1.3 Million on Animal Control every year. The millage will add an additional $1.7 Million to that budget over the next 7 years. You may recall that GRACE was not in favor of this millage. This is not because we did not want extra money for the animals. It was because we believe that the current budget is highly mismanaged and readily available grant money is not being pursued. Further, the Board had no specific plan for how to use these funds; the millage language left it completely open for any use. We did not want county residents paying more for a sub-standard shelter and more mismanagement. Had we not been able to elect an animal friendly majority on the Board, who knows what kind of terrible decisions would be made. However, the fact that Genesee County voters supported this millage sends a huge message. It says that our residents love animals and recognize that we have a terrible Animal Control; they are willing to literally pay for a better tomorrow. Fortunately, we DO now have a very promising Board taking over in January. Unfortunately, there are still 45 days left in 2014. We fully expect that Pegge Adams and Ted Henry will try to dictate how those millage funds will be used before January 1st, while they still have 3-4 other votes on the Board. Their comments indicate that they are planning to add to staff. There has been no mention of improving the cages or ventilation system for the animals, vaccinations, spay / neuter, medical treatment, etc. So what do we do now? Here’s how you can help: 1) Write to your County Commissioner and state that you expect to see positive changes FOR THE ANIMALS in 2015, and that you expect with double the funding that GCAC will be a role model shelter for our state from 2015 going forward (contact information is in the comments below). 2) Attend the Board meetings. They are held every Wednesday at 9am in the Administration Building on Beach Street. GRACE members almost always attend and we would love to see you. Your presence reminds the Board that this issue is important to voters and we are watching their actions. You will also have 2 minutes to make a public comment if you wish. 3) If you are an approved volunteer, please continue to go into the shelter. November and December are extra high kill months because shelter employees do not like taking care of large numbers of animals over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. If you can help socialize, exercise and network the animals, more of them will find homes and escape that horrible place. 4) If you are not an approved volunteer, you can still go into the shelter and observe, talk to volunteers, see the animals and tell your friends what you saw. The absolute key to change is awareness. The more you know, the more powerful your voice is. Also, you may see a dog or cat that would be perfect for someone you know! For years a wonderful lady who was never an official volunteer would visit the shelter every Friday, bringing treats to all the animals she was able to see. She knew that weekends were extra hard on them and she wanted to show them some extra love on Fridays. We were so saddened to learn that this wonderful lady passed away recently. We would love to see someone new carry on this tradition for her. 5) Support our local rescue groups. Several private organizations work hard to rescue animals out of GCAC whenever they have the resources. They need donations as well as people willing to foster and volunteer for them. If you are interested in that but don’t know where to go, message us and we will hook you up! In the meantime, GRACE will be making sure our new Commissioners are well educated before they take their seats in January. Now that the campaigning is behind them, they should have time to start studying the issues. Thank you again for all of your support. We know this process is slow and waiting is very hard. But we also know that we were never going to get anywhere with the prior Board in charge. For the first time, we have a real shot at positive change because of your support and hard work. We are so proud to stand with you in this important work.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:36:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015