CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While efforts to expand capacity at Charlotte’s strained animal shelter are underway, advocates are pushing for another measure they believe could improve resources for the area’s homeless pets – separating Animal Care and Control from its parent department Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.
Advocates argue putting shelter issues under the police chief adds layers of bureaucracy and red tape.
City leaders are already discussing the creation of an additional pet resource center, separate from the main location by the airport, which would add to kennel space. It has been roughly 30 years since the shelter's capacity was set. Data shows, at the time, Charlotte's population was half the size.
Monday, city leaders voted to approve zoning for the new center, noting it was just the first step, with likely more to come, in addressing the shelter's capacity needs.
"I think this will be an excellent litmus test to see how we can help support the overcrowding of the animal shelter, and if we get this right, and get this model right, then, we can replicate it in other areas throughout the city," Danté Anderson, Charlotte's Mayor Pro Tem, said during the discussion in Monday's meeting.
An August memo to the city manager shows the city is looking to place that center on city-owned property on South Tryon Street, next to Renaissance Park, noting that shelter staff is requesting the facility have at least 100 dog kennels, 16 to 20 cat kennels, and a room for small pets and kittens.
Josh Fisher, CMPD Animal Care and Control Director, said he is aware of the community push for separate departments and can think of benefits and challenges with the idea.
An example of the current struggle from the animal perspective, he explained, is funding requests for new kennel assistants could get pitted against requests for more 911 operators and have to pass through the police chief before making it to city leaders.
"Not a job I envy in the slightest, because I live in the city of Charlotte, and I know when I dial 911, I want somebody to answer," Fisher said. "So, when it comes down to a telecommunicator or a kennel attendant, there's a clear priority there from a public safety perspective. However, that doesn't mean we don't need the kennel attendants."
"They have to weigh out those priorities," Fisher continued. "Because they are competing priorities and there's a finite amount of money for the city of Charlotte."
He said dividing the department would allow city leaders to hear animal needs separately from police needs.
Fisher also said separation would cut down on layers of approval needed in the grant-seeking process and reduce barriers to volunteering, which currently requires a drug test and background check, since people are being vetted for a law enforcement agency.
A potential challenge, he said, is that separation would likely come with added expenses.
"In order to create an additional city department, it would come with a price tag," Fisher said. "That's something that would have to be decided by the city manager's office and the electeds."
During Monday's zoning meeting, Tiawana Brown, the city council representative for District Three, which includes the shelter, said she was happy to support the new adoption center, but would like to see additional measures in the future.
"I personally would like to say it on record--I would like to see the animal shelter separate from CMPD," Brown said. "CMPD has their own issues without having to worry about the four-legged creatures."
Dimple Ajmera, an at-large representative on Charlotte City Council, said she can see both sides of the argument, including pro-separation beliefs that it would allow the police department to focus on police duties and animal care to focus on animal issues.
"We’ve also got to consider logistics," Ajmera said. "We’ve also got to consider financial implications of all of it. At the end of the day, we have to be good stewards of our public dollars."
She said the city is considering a big step in listening to the public, with discussions on where to go from there, likely to come.
"We've set aside $30 million in the budget that was just approved towards expanding our Animal Care and Control because we are all committed to supporting our Animal Care and Control division," Ajmera said.
The Fiscal Year 2025 budget also sets aside funding for ten new staff positions, including an additional veterinarian.
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.