- July 12, 2025
With questions remaining over how, when and to what extent Flagler County will launch its own animal control services, County Commissioners directed staff to proceed with renewing the county's contract with the Flagler Humane Society — for now.
Commissioners discussed the issue at a workshop on Wednesday, July 2, over a week after telling staff at a previous workshop that they wanted to move forward with bringing animal control in-house.
That sentiment hasn't changed, but before making a decision, commissioners wanted to know how much it would cost in future years, sans initial startup costs, if it contracted the City of Palm Coast instead for animal control. They also had questions about background checks for volunteers associated with the FHS.
However, County Administrator Heidi Petito wasn't able to get answers to these questions in time to present them at the July 2 workshop. Palm Coast staff members previously in communication with Petito were either sick or on vacation, and the FHS responded late the previous night.
"I think that at this point, because we don't have all of the pieces, I don't know that we can really move forward with it," Petito said.
Palm Coast did want to schedule a joint meeting on the issue, tentatively for Aug. 27.
Which would cut it close to when the county would need to make a decision on whether to renew its contract with FHS or not; the current contract runs through the end of September.
What Petito was able to provide the commissioners with was a breakdown of the estimated $419,953 budget to create an in-house animal control service: $187,339 in personnel costs for two animal control officers and a technician, $54,000 in operating costs and $178,614 in capital costs for equipment and three vehicles.
The delivery of a truck, Petito added, takes anywhere from 14-16 months.
"It just appears to me that this is almost designed for failure," Commissioner Kim Carney said.
Carney questioned the need for a technician if the county chose to contract Palm Coast for animal control, saying the proposed budget was "way too beefed up," using the presented $3,000 cost of uniforms, $3,000 in training and $163,000 for three vehicles as examples.
"I just can't believe it's a half million dollars to get started in the animal control business," Carney said. "... Thank you for the detail. It just makes me have more questions, just like you have more questions."
It's hard to create a budget not knowing the scope and magnitude of services, Petito said.
"Because I did not get a response to some of the questions and some of the concerns, as I stated, it's a shot in the dark," she said.
County Attorney Al Hadeed addressed some of Carney's concerns regarding training needed. Animal control officers deal with dangerous dogs, animal abuse cases and a slew of infraction citations, he explained.
Petito also presented the commission with a breakdown of what it would cost to contract the city of Palm Coast for animal control, a $392,660.14 cost based on the estimated 500 dogs a year picked up in the unincorporated areas of the county.
That's less than two dogs a day, Carney said.
"This is not even fathomable," she said. "This isn't believable."
Commissioner Leann Pennington agreed — it's too much. She said she'd rather start the county service with one animal control officer, one manager and one vehicle.
Be careful, warned Commissioner Greg Hansen, who said the county can't run animal control from "an accounting standpoint" and say they can only intake a certain number of dogs a day.
Animal control officers are on call, he added.
"They don't know where the strays are going to show up," Hansen said. "They get a call, they react to the call."
Carney said she would like to see Flagler County cooperate with Palm Coast for animal control, rather than create a new department.
"I'd like to see some sharing or integrating," she said.
If the commission decided to renew its contract with the FHS, it does have a termination clause to give a 120-day, or four-month, notice.
Pennington said they have "no choice" now but to renew because of the timing.
"I thought that was pretty clear when we went into contracts last year that we wanted to see other options and clearly, the year got the best of everybody, but we will not let up our foot on the pedal," Pennington said. "We will keep going forward on this."
Commissioner Pam Richardson said she didn't understand why the county couldn't partner with grassroots groups in the meantime and said she felt like a "little hamster on a hamster wheel."
"It's too ginormous right now, and that's why it's going nowhere," she said. "We have to figure out small ways of making a difference now, as soon as possible."
Hadeed said that a couple of lines were being blurred between animal control and sheltering animals. Animal control, he explained, is closely aligned with law enforcement and controlling nuisance behavior.
"There isn't a publicly owned or a nonprofit animal welfare site," Hadeed said.
Pennington said that the board has separated the issue (though Richardson had mentioned kennels during her comments) by placing an animal shelter project on a future capital improvements project list.
"The consensus from everyone was we wanted to see animal control in a place, whether it was here or with the city, where we had more control and input over the animal control agents and activities, particularly since we were swearing them in, and we just didn't feel like we had that," Pennington said.
