Habersham County may soon start providing animal control services again in the city of Baldwin.
At its next meeting, the Baldwin City Council will consider whether to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the county for animal control. The Habersham County Commission approved the IGA earlier this week.
City residents pay county taxes too
For years, Baldwin and the county have gone back and forth over the cost of the animal control service. The main issue was the cost for the service did not reflect that “in city” property owners are also county taxpayers. Baldwin leaders maintain the county should apply credit for those taxes to reduce the city’s cost for the additional service.
Another issue that came to light over the years was that some cities used animal control more than Baldwin but paid less.
Prior to dropping the service earlier this year, Baldwin’s animal control bill had gone up significantly. In 2017 and 2018, the county charged the city $13,971 a year for animal control services. In 2021, that fee increased to $27,941, and for fiscal year 2022, it rose to $28,779 annually.
Under the pending agreement, Habersham would charge Baldwin $4,200 for animal control services for the last three months of the current fiscal year which ends June 30. That equates to $16,800 annually.
Working together
Habersham County Finance Director Tim Sims explained in an email to Now Habersham that the formula for determining animal control fees is “complex.”
“That formula has been in effect for several years from the historical info that I can find in the files,” he tells Now Habersham. “My predecessor’s calculation formula was on track but needed to be updated to appropriately take into account several additional items that go into the total cost of animal control services and the taxes generated in each municipality.”
County manager Alicia Vaughn says the county is very committed to working with municipalities in exploring ways to improve service delivery to residents.
“Anytime we find a way to work together provides an opportunity for tax savings,” says Vaughn. “We are looking forward to reinstating animal control service to the City of Baldwin contingent on their approval of our revised IGA and thank the city for our valuable partnership.”
Acting Baldwin Mayor Alice Venter says she has not yet seen the agreement approved by the county commission – it’s awaiting the city attorney’s approval.
“When we spoke to the county, they broke down some numbers for us, and we’re still not 100% on them. However, they were very good – much better than they have been in the past at working with us,” Venter says.
The Baldwin City Council is scheduled to vote on the IGA Monday, March 27. If approved, animal control services would be restored in Baldwin effective April 1.
