Natalie Pierre
The State Journal-Register
After a year of going back and forth, the Springfield City Council voted Tuesday to renew its contract with Sangamon County Animal Control. The city has used the county’s animal control services for 20 years. But a number of aldermen continue to make it clear that they are unhappy with the services.
With contract negotiations spanning almost the length of the agreement — which was to run from March 2020 through February 2021 — the county proposed that they extend its agreement by a year.
After spending 15 minutes of Tuesday night’s hour-long meeting debating the agreement, city officials voted 7-3 in favor of amending the contract, which was set to conclude at the end of next month. Then, they voted 8-2 in favor of extending the contract with the county through February 2022, with an annual payment of $303,289.
Alderwomen Kristin DiCenso and Erin Conley and Alderman Joe McMenamin voted against the amendment. While DiCenso and Conley also voted against the extended contract, McMenamin offered a reluctant yes.
“I think over the course of time, we’ve had a real high level of interest by our citizens in the way that animal control is conducted,” McMenamin explained. “We want greater responsiveness and so forth. I’m going to vote yes, because we’ve got to pay what’s due for the services rendered.
“I think it was a mistake to extend the contract because it eliminates our opportunity to try to make modifications, which our citizens ask for.”
After being provided with free service for the last 11 months in the midst of contract negotiations, the city will now pay animal control $606,578 for the current agreement, which covers two years of services.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 