Humane Society threatened shelter pullout

In fact, they said it was the nonprofit that issued a notice in February threatening to leave the shelter if an ongoing contract dispute wasn't resolved by March 20.

Last week, Humane Society of Central Texas board president Patricia Meadows announced her resignation, citing an ongoing contract dispute between the nonprofit and the city of Waco, which partners at the city animal shelter on Circle Road.

Meadows said the city adopted a new contract in 2022 without Humane Society board approval and failed to negotiate in good faith, including impossible performance incentives.

He also said the city included language in contract proposals that prevented Humane Society employees from speaking publicly about the contract dispute and said he resigned to bring the two sides back to the table to negotiate a new contract .

Meadows also said the city informed the Humane Society in February that it would be removing the Humane Society from the shelter, taking over shelter operations due to the lack of a contract.

However, this week City Manager Bradley Ford and Assistant City Manager Ryan Holt sent a letter Meadows sent to city management on Feb. 20 stating that negotiations had reached an impasse.

The letter also said that if a resolution was not reached by March 20, the Humane Society would leave the shelter within 90 days, which would be June 18.

Holt said the city and the nonprofit operate under a contract signed by former Humane Society board chair Christie Acosta and approved by city council on Aug. 2, 2022. He said the two parties are still considered under contract and that negotiations have been completed. amendments to adjust the Humane Society's funding after its donation income fell.

Proposed changes to the contract include the City taking on adoption and placement fees, as well as the cost of spaying and neutering operations, a cost the two entities had previously split. Also included are financial incentives to reduce the host population to 80%, 70%, 60% and 50% of capacity.

Meadows said last week that financial incentive benchmarks would be impossible to meet and that the city was negotiating in bad faith. Holt said the city sent out the proposed contract in November and didn't hear back until Meadows' February letter. In the letter Meadows sent was a final proposal for $1.2 million in fixed funding and no financial incentives.

Ford said including financial incentives in vendor contracts is standard for the city because financial incentives make vendors perform well, and a flat sum means the vendor will be paid whether their operations are satisfactory or not. no. Holt said the city rejected the $1.2 million request as too large and is preparing for the possibility that the Humane Society will leave the shelter.

Holt said the city is committed to maintaining the shelter's no-kill status, which requires a 90 percent live-out rate.

Ford said he didn't think the Humane Society represented the situation fairly. He said the City Council considers negotiations to be ongoing.

“It seems like a lot of the community feels like the city is pushing the Humane Society out,” Ford said. “Rather, my perspective is that the Humane Society gave us written notice of their intention to leave. So I don't think it was necessarily a fair conversation. I just wish people understood what an advocate is of animals. And our expectation is that to make animal care work in this region, we need everyone pulling in the same direction.”

Meadows said by email Wednesday that the Humane Society hoped the city would make a counteroffer that represented “a fair contract.” He did not immediately respond to questions about what a fair contract would mean for the Humane Society.

He also did not answer questions about why the previous board president would sign a contract not approved by the board or whether the Humane Society still intends to leave the shelter on June 18.