ORDINANCE NO. 250188
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Sponsor: City Manager’s Office
Directing the City Manager to transition animal control operations from the City’s current contractor, Kansas City Pet Project, to the Neighborhood Services Department no later than December 31, 2025, and to cooperate with such contractor to facilitate a smooth transition of such responsibilities by providing contractor no fewer than 90 days’ notice of the date on which such contract will terminate and City staff will assume all animal control operations; reducing the contingent appropriation in the General Fund by $500,000.00; appropriating $500,000.00 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the General Fund for the purposes of hiring a manager of animal control services, negotiating equipment purchases, and public engagement efforts with residents and relevant stakeholders; designating requisitioning authority; and recognizing this ordinance as having an accelerated effective date.
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WHEREAS, Chapter 14, Animals, of the Kansas City Code of Ordinances sets forth the City’s animal regulations; and
WHEREAS, City staff previously performed the City’s animal control enforcement services before City outsourced such operations to Kansas City Pet Project pursuant to a contract beginning September 1, 2020, as authorized by City Council in Ordinance No. 200533; and
WHEREAS, since September 1, 2020, Kansas City Pet Project has performed animal control operations for the City pursuant to contract, with the current term expiring on April 30, 2025, and the option of a final renewal term extending the contract as far as April 30, 2026; and
WHEREAS, in August 2024, the City released a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) inviting potential contractors to submit their proposals for providing continued animal control services; and
WHEREAS, the City’s Evaluation Team tasked with reviewing any response to this RFP specifically rejected Kansas City Pet Project’s response to this RFP and did not identify a suitable contractor that met the City’s requirements for adequate animal control services; and
WHEREAS, on December 12, 2024, City Council passed Resolution No. 241043 directing the City Manager to develop and present to Council an implementation plan to insource animal control responsibilities to City staff; and
WHEREAS, having received and reviewed City staff’s proposed insourcing plan, the City Council believes City-operated animal control services will provide for more effective enforcement of animal control services; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Neighborhood Services Department estimates that, excluding the cost of contractor’s services, the cost of transition efforts will be $500,000.00 during FY2024-25; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Neighborhood Services Department estimates that the combined cost of all contractor-and City-provided animal control services will be $3,470,000.00 during FY2025-26; and
WHEREAS, the Director of Neighborhood Services Department estimates that the cost of animal control services, having been fully assumed by City staff, will be $2,870,000.00 during FY2026-27; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. That the City Manager is hereby directed to begin the transition of animal control operations from the City’s current contractor, Kansas City Pet Project, to the Neighborhood Services Department and to complete this transition no later than December 31, 2025. These efforts shall include close cooperation with contractor to facilitate a smooth transition of responsibilities by providing contractor no fewer than 90 days’ notice of the date such contract will terminate and City staff will assume all animal control operations, ensuring sufficient budgetary, staffing and equipment needs are in place and timely submitted for Council approval, if required, and thorough public engagement between City staff and residents and other relevant stakeholders in an effort to tailor City services to public needs.
Section 2. That the appropriation in the following account of the General Fund is reduced by $500,000.00 in the following account:
25-1000-179990-B Contingent Appropriation $500,000.00
Section 3. That the sum of $500,000.00 is hereby appropriated from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the General Fund to the following account in the General Fund:
25-1000-572600-B Animal Control $500,000.00
Section 4. That the Director of the Neighborhood Services Department is designated as requisitioning authority for Account No. 25-1000-572600.
Section 5. That this ordinance is recognized as having an accelerated effective date as provided in Section 503(a)(3)(C) of the City Charter in that it appropriates money and shall take effect in accordance with that section.
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I hereby certify that there is a balance, otherwise unencumbered, to the credit of the appropriation to which the foregoing expenditure is to be charged, and a cash balance, otherwise unencumbered, in the treasury, to the credit of the fund from which payment is to be made, each sufficient to meet the obligation hereby incurred.
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Tammy L. Queen
Director of Finance
Approved as to form:
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Bret Kassen
Associate City Attorney