Daniel Prince
City administrator wants to extend current agreement with county until new supervisor gets in office
The agreement between the city and the county for animal control ended as of Monday. According to a statement released by the city, the two entities entered into the contract in August 2016, and at the time of the agreement, the city turned over all equipment and supplies related to Animal Control to the county. The city also paid the county $31,000 a year for animal control services. That agreement was completely separate from the agreement the city and county had for code enforcement. The city terminated the agreement for code enforcement effective June 30.
The statement says that city residents also reside inside Union County, which means city residents pay taxes to Union County, giving these residents access to county services like animal control. Because of the county’s decision to abruptly terminate the animal control contract, the city asks that you remain patient as equipment, supplies, and personnel are restored to assist with these services inside city limits.
City Administrator Joe Nichols told WBCU News that the 60-day notice was not enough time to negotiate a new agreement or to get the supplies needed for the city to take on animal control. He said he hoped he could meet with interim Supervisor Bob Love soon and get an extension on the current agreement for six months, and then negotiate a longer-term agreement with the new supervisor early next year.
The Union County Animal Shelter posted a Facebook message saying for city residents to call the city at 429-1700 to report animal control or code enforcement issues. In May, city council voted to contract its code enforcement and building inspection services with RCI of South Carolina.
We’ll have more on the animal control situation as it develops.