Culver City News
June 16, 2005

Animal Group for Local Control

Members of Friends of Culver City Animals urged the City Council on Monday night to plan ahead for an animal control officer to work out of the Culver City Police Department.
The Council took renewal of its contract with the L.A. County Animal Care and Control Department off of its agenda before the meeting, but Mayor Albert Vera gave time to a few members of Friends to make their case.

Co-founder Deborah Weinrauch told the Council her relatively new group has gathered 700 signatures so far in support of localizing animal control. She said the group recognized that the city must renew the contract with the County Department for a year because the current agreement expires at the end of June. "What we're asking is that you consider how our Police Department can begin providing animal control field patrol and how the general fund budget for this basic government function can be restored to what it was for the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 fiscal years" to make way for a local control patrol officer, Weinrauch said.

She asked for a Police Department or staff report on how such an officer could be implemented into the community.
Jim Berland told the Council: ''A local animal control officer who knows our city, our people and our animals and works closely together with other city departments, will improve the quality of life in Culver City." He said that goal "is within financial reach. Remember, we pay for animal control officers from the County. I don't want to see us spending $57.02 an hour on an animal control officer stuck in traffic on the 405 when he or she could be driving the streets of Culver City."