Council Rejects 2012 Contract with Animal Shelter

It came as little surprise when Hellertown Borough Council members unanimously voted to reject a proposed 2012 contract with the Center for Animal Health and Welfare at their Dec. 5 meeting.

At meetings earlier this fall, by officials at the large Northampton County animal shelter, which has been accepting stray dogs from the borough for a number of years.

Among other changes the borough would have been required to accept had it approved the contract was one that would have allowed residents to drop off strays--including cats and kittens--even though the borough would have been forced to pick up the tab for those drop-offs.

The price for depositing a stray animal at the shelter is also going to increase from $100 to $150 in 2012, under the terms of the new contract.

"Fiscally we can't afford to do what they're saying," Shupp told council members, after recommending that the contract not be approved.

"This is also the direction that all municipalities are taking," he added. "And the center is not backing down. They are just saying they are so full right now they can't waiver on (the terms of the contract)."

Shupp said that in the coming days he and Borough Manager Cathy Kichline would be emailing council members to discuss two options for dealing with strays starting Jan. 1.

He did not specify what those options are, but , since many pets are claimed by their owners within a short period of time.