A lot of dogs at the Guilford County Animal Shelter will no doubt be wagging their tales after a vote by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners at the board’s Thursday, Sept. 19 meeting, and cats at the shelter will probably be doing whatever cats do when they’re happy as well.
At the meeting, the commissioners voted to approve the addition of five new positions at the shelter and they also funded added security.
This means the county will now have an additional veterinarian at the facility, as well as new employees that wash and care for the animals – and a new foster care placement coordinator, a financial records keeper and a security guard.
Guilford County Animal Services Director Jorge Ortega spoke very briefly to the Board of Commissioners on the need for the new employees since the commissioners discussed the matter at length during the county’s budget talks earlier this summer. At that time, there seemed to be a lot of agreement among the commissioners that the shelter needed some help.
At the Sept. 19 meeting, Commissioner Skip Alston pointed out that, though the positions are now being funded from lapsed county salaries, in future years the move will require additional county budget dollars. Much of the new cost, however, will be covered by a reduction in the cost of services that the Animal Shelter has until now contracted to outside providers.
