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Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Huntsville Hospital Health System and Lincoln Health System have jointly announced the completion of their due diligence process for the integration of their organizations. Under the 40-year lease agreement which takes effect July 1, Huntsville Hospital Health System assumes control and resp…
A Taft man died from his injuries after a farm accident late Thursday afternoon.
The Elk Valley Times has selected senior Parker Webb as the Lincoln County Falcons Baseball MVP for the 2021-22 season.
Before Amy Higgins goes to work, she makes her lunch, gets her water bottle and calls for the dogs as she goes out the door. Her ears attune to birdsong as the sweet nectar of honeysuckle permeates the morning air on her walk down the driveway to open pastures and her office - a beautiful ho…
Scott Mills is stepping down from his BBC Radio 1 weekday show to replace Steve Wright in his afternoon slot.
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Three sibling pups, Bella, Fella and Della vie for attention through the kennel bars. They represent a fraction of the 167 animals at the shelter urgently needing adoption.
Three sibling pups, Bella, Fella and Della vie for attention through the kennel bars. They represent a fraction of the 167 animals at the shelter urgently needing adoption.
As of Friday, those driving by the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Animal Shelter will notice a closed sign. Members of the board said due to escalating overhead and an inability to reach an agreement for additional funds from the City of Fayetteville and Lincoln County governing bodies, FLC Animal Shelter will no longer offer animal control services, accept animals or respond to abuse, cruelty or animal control situations, though they will be open for adoptions during regular hours until their funds are depleted.
“The animal shelter will close on July 1 for an undetermined length of time and will not be accepting any animals, as we are uncertain of the future of the animals presently in our care,” FLC Animal Shelter board members posted to its Facebook page. “We will also not be investigating abuse, cruelty, neglected or stray animals. The shelter will take calls for adoption appointments and we welcome volunteers, donations and of course, community support.
“Thank you for all the love and commitment so many of you have provided for our animals and our community. We are truly heartbroken that it has come to this situation after over 30 years of service to our community, but we can no longer afford to deplete our meager savings while performing animal control duties that should be government funded.”
Fayetteville City Administrator Kevin Owens said, “In a letter dated June 1, 2022, the Humane Society of Lincoln County notified the City of Fayetteville and Lincoln County of its intention to abandon its longstanding partnership with the City and County to operate the Fayetteville-Lincoln County Animal Shelter and provide animal control services in the area on June 30, 2022.
“The Humane Society cited the failure of the City and County to meet its funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year as the basis for dissolving this partnership,” Owens said. “The Humane Society had requested a 62.5% increase in funding from the City and a 120% in funding from the County. Though Humane Society representatives and City and County officials have engaged in numerous discussions since the Humane Society issued its notification, there remains a number of issues between the entities which could not be resolved.”
Owens, who said he is a 10-year member of the Humane Society of the United States, said the Humane Society’s mission is to ensure proper care and humane treatment of all animals. He said while the Humane Society often fosters manageable pets that are suitable for adoption, general animal control services often involve taking charge of abandoned and unwanted dogs and cats that may considered a nuisance or a danger to other animals and members of the community.
Owens said he understands the challenges of all entities involved. He has participated in Humane Society and animal control training throughout the country and prior to assuming the position of city administrator, he studied the trends in municipal budgets, including allocations for animal control services.
Owens said he has been in contact with other municipalities regionally, discussing how animal control issues are handled in those communities.
“The City of Fayetteville is no different from other communities in this area in this respect, all of who face real challenges funding agencies and services as the needs and expenses of these entities increase,” Owens said, explaining that during his first weeks in his current position, he was tasked with putting together a proposed budget and learned firsthand the difficulties in trying to meet the operational requests of city departments and agencies funding by the City and the County.
“Difficult decisions had to be made in putting together the proposed budget recently approved by the Board of Mayor and Alderman of the City of Fayetteville,” he said. “The City and County wish the Humane Society of Lincoln County well in its future endeavors. The City and County will continue to work together to develop plans that will provide its citizens with the most effective animal control services available within the budgetary constraints of the City and County.”
He said city and county leaders have reached out to many other organizations providing care and services for animals in the area and they realize the challenges arising from the termination of the longstanding partnership with the Humane Society. He said they “are working to address them, both with short-term and long-term plans that will be announced within the coming days.”
According to the Humane Society’s budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, the organization needs a total income of $439,900, with $84,400 coming from public contributions, $9,500 from memorial donations, $9,000 from private grants, $7,000 from public grants and $70,000 from adoption fees, with the Lincoln County Commission and City of Fayetteville providing the remaining funds. This year the Humane Society asked for $120,000 or a $45,000 increase from the City of Fayetteville. The City provided $75,000 to the Humane Society last fiscal year.
The Humane Society also asked for $140,000 or an additional $77,500 more from the County Commission. Last fiscal year the County Commission provided $37,500 and later added $25,000 for a total of $62,500 in funding.
Humane society officials said that expenses total $439,900 with the majority of it to pay eight full-time employees and four part-time employees. They said other expenses include payroll tax at $19,000, employee benefits – which are currently unavailable – at $12,000, insurance at $5,000, license and professional fees at $3,000, capital repairs (grading, rock, soil and turf work) at $65,000, training at $12,300 and uniforms and equipment at $5,100
During June’s County Commission meeting an allocation for $62,500 was made for the Humane Society of Lincoln County, but it did not meet the budget requests that the nonprofit requested. Fayetteville City Board of Mayor and Alderman offered the shelter $75,000 for fiscal year 2023.
At this juncture, unless the Humane Society and governing bodies can come to an agreement and the community can help support the shelter, it will likely close altogether, Cindy Kite, president of board of the Lincoln County Humane Society, said.
As of last Tuesday, a total of 167 animals were in the shelter, including 67 kittens, 32 puppies, 16 cats and 54 dogs waiting for their forever homes. Kite said she hopes some area counties can take some of the animals, but many other shelters and rescues are also struggling to find homes for animals. When asked what will become of the animals, Cindy Kite said, “Everybody’s overloaded … I don’t know.”
“During the pandemic there were a lot of adoptions,” Kite said. She explained since many people have gone back to work, some of those animals have been returned. Now that the pets are a year or two old, they are less adoptable, but still need to be fed and cared for, she said. Costs for pet foods, litter, sanitizing agents, cleaning supplies and repairs have also escalated.
What can the community do to help keep the shelter running? Humane society officials said people can donate monetary funds, adopt a pet, foster a pet, volunteer to write a grant, make much needed repairs or volunteer to work at the shelter. Adoption fees help cover the cost of the animal’s vaccinations, worming, spay or neuter and feed and care for the time they are there.
Kite also encourages the community to support shelter fundraisers and First Fridays each month on the courthouse square where they sell Pet Smart items including pet apparel and toys, and welcome donations.
Other items needed include Purina puppy, dog, kitten and cat food, collars and leashes, sanitizing wipes, non-clumping cat litter, laundry detergent, low splash bleach, Fabuloso, copy paper, Amazon or Walmart gift cards and gas cards.
To adopt, volunteer to help at the shelter, donate food or other resources, call 931-433-3726 or email Fayettevillecritters@gmail.com. FLC Animal Shelter’s hours for adoptions are 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The shelter is closed on Thursdays and open from 9 a.m. until noon Saturdays.
To make a donation send a check to Humane Society of Lincoln County, P.O. Box 37, Fayetteville, TN 37334 or donate on their website Fayetteville Lincoln County Humane Society.com.
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