1-to-60-day foster care to be Fayette Animal Shelter option?

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Screen grab of Fayette County Animal Shelter‘s Facebook page.
Screen grab of Fayette County Animal Shelter‘s Facebook page.

Fayette to hold hearing on $52 million budget June 14

The June 14 meeting of the Fayette County Commission will include a public hearing on the 2019 budget and a proposal to implement a day fostering program at the animal shelter.

The proposed 2019 General Fund budget totaling $52 million will be the subject of a public hearing, followed by another on June 28 prior to the adoption.

Revenues for the proposed budget 2019 total $52.66 million, while expenditures and other uses total $52.122 million, resulting in a $540,250 positive impact to the general fund. The current general fund budget as adopted totaled $50 million.

The expected $540,250 fund balance for 2019, which is part of the general fund, will be added 2018 fund balance of $29,144,510, for a total of $29,684,760.

The proposed budget comes with no property tax increase. Finance Director Mary Parrott previously noted that the 2018 millage rate rollback amounted to a $599,966 savings for taxpayers, adding that the cumulative savings to taxpayers totals $21.5 million since 2013.

Pertaining to the proposed day fostering program at the animal shelter, county staff said in an ongoing effort to ensure that all animals that come to the shelter are socialized, and given more exposure for adoption, the foster program would allow approved individuals to take animals from the shelter for a period of one day up to a maximum of 60 days, at the discretion of the director or his/her designee. The approved individual fosters will sign a waiver and agreement to allow them to take an animal from the shelter property. The length of time out of the shelter will be determined by animal shelter officials.