WWL-TV

The Louisiana SPCA will face a $400,000 budget shortfall and be forced to reduce services after being told by the city to cut their budget, according to Ana Zorrilla, LA/SPCA’s chief executive officer.

“The LA/SPCA is deeply saddened at reaching this point where we have to make this decision,” said Zorrilla. “We had been working with the city for months now on negotiating an agreement that would allow us to continue to provide essential services for our community. Unfortunately, the CAO’s office has informed us that there may be an additional 5% cut beyond the $400,000 that we are already faced with.”

The current agreement is set to expire at midnight New Year’s Eve, and the city proposed a one-year agreement which leaves the agency $400,000 short, according to Zorrilla.

But while Zorrilla said the city is cutting the agency’s budget, city officials disagree: “The City of New Orleans has not proposed a reduction in 2009 to the $2,350,000 in compensation paid to the SPCA in 2008 as the organization suggests. The SPCA has asked for an increase of $400,000 over its 2008 funding but has not specified exactly why that increase is necessary,” said James Ross, the city’s deputy director of communications.

“The city has asked the SPCA to provide detailed information regarding the proposed increase of $400,000. It is the city’s understanding, based on comments from the SPCA, that this includes a $200,000 administrative fee. Such an additional fee appears inappropriate, as the City of New Orleans already pays salaries and fringe benefits for animal control officers and office staff,” said Ross.

Zorrilla said that as result of the cuts the agency will cease bite case collection and management, will not perform saturation sweeps for stray collection, will no longer be open to the public or perform animal control services seven days a week, will not respond to emergency calls after hours, will not provide monthly reports to the Health Department and will not respond to calls regarding wildlife.

“The city understands that in tough times, cuts to non-essential programs may be necessary and that the SPCA may need to make some changes, such as reducing full operations from seven days per week to five days per week and reducing or eliminating saturation sweeps and the process related to placing/monitoring/collecting traps for stray collection,” said Ross. “The city asks, however, that the SPCA look at standards of reasonableness in prioritization of service reductions in relation to providing critical public safety services.”