Pittsburgh council rejects proposal for animal shelter study

Pittsburgh City Council rejected a proposal on Tuesday for a feasibility study on creating a city-run animal shelter

In an unusually divisive move, council members split five to four on a final vote on legislation that would’ve paid nearly $50,000 to Arlington, Texas-based Shelter Planners of America to determine whether Pittsburgh would be better served to operate its own animal shelter or continue relying on a local nonprofit for such services.

Council members last week debated the proposal, with some voicing concerns about spending money on a study — which may recommend spending more money still to build the shelter — while the city’s finances are set to become increasingly tight over the next few years.

Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, said now that council has voted the measure down, they won’t know whether the city could actually be saving money by operating its own facility, rather than paying other nonprofits to do that work.

“I agree it seems far-fetched and given the state of finances right now, it just doesn’t seem like something we should be pursuing — but I want to underscore this request was just for a study to understand the feasibility of it,” she said.

Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, said he wished council members would’ve worked through any lingering concerns before rejecting it in Tuesday’s vote.

Ahead of a preliminary vote last week, Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said he felt there were other services the city should consider bringing in-house first. He also pointed out that even simply exploring the possibility of opening a city-run shelter would cost taxpayers money.

Charland joined council members Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, and Khari Mosley, D-Point Breeze, in voting against the proposal.

Council members Warwick, Wilson, R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, voted in favor of the study.

Currently, the city pays Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh $375,000 a year to house abandoned animals. On average, the city sends nearly 600 dogs, about 350 cats and more than a dozen small pets to the shelter each year.