The Humane Society of St. Joseph County has asked the county to more than double its funding for this year. Their request has sparked a special county council meeting Tuesday.
The Humane Society in late August asked county commissioners for $1.3 million for 2026, compared to $601,000 they received from the county last year for animal control. The council approved a budget of $619,000, which was a 3% increase.
Council president Bryan Tanner says the council hadn’t known about the Humane Society’s larger request when it approved the budget. He says commissioners, by late August, had told the Humane Society that it could only approve the 3% increase because the budget had already been publicly advertised.
But the nonprofit wants to start offering employees health insurance, buy some new vehicles, upgrade their heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, and add two employees, including a full-time veterinarian.
The contract ended Dec. 31 but the Humane Society has made a good-faith extension through the end of March. If they can’t reach an agreement by then, the sheriff department would have to provide animal control in unincorporated parts of the county.
