The City of Houston’s proposed contract with Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care Interim Chief Gerry Fusco has a $23,500 discount. (Read the contract here and here).
The lowered cost to $135,000, which the contract states Fusco agreed to, will be used “to defray the City’s cost for leadership-development training that will be provided to help improve BARC operations.” (The contract states that it’s a $25,000 discount. However, when the contract appeared on last week’s City Council agenda, it was set at $158,500, so it looks like the City’s math is slightly off).
The contract, which we just got from Marty Stein, Mayor Bill White’s agenda director, calls for Fusco to improve quality of veterinary care; increase the adoption rate and number of foster homes; improving the volunteer program; and develop vehicles for marketing and “community outreach.”
Specific objectives include a goal to vaccinate 95 percent of animals within 24 hours of intake, and — illustrating just how bad things were allowed to get under Health and Human Services Director Stephen Williams’ tenure — the goal is to “reduce to zero the number of puppies who die in the drains in the north kennel.” (Hair Balls has a similar target objective, where we try to reduce to zero the number of times we feel compelled to say WTF?! in stories about BARC).
The contract also addresses Fusco’s work over the past three weeks,
stating that “He is making progress. He has made a presentation to all
BARC employees to convey the philosophy and expectation that animals
will be treated as the City’s customers.”
The contract is on the August 25 (Tuesday) City Council agenda.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2009.
