A word of caution for Marana and Sahuarita residents taking a lost or sick animal to the Pima Animal Care Center — don’t forget your wallet.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors signed off Tuesday on a new set of fees for the center, requiring Marana and Sahuarita residents to pay additional fees for animal sheltering and veterinary care.
The revisions came after both towns chose to break away from long-standing intergovernmental agreements with the county-run shelter in favor of handling their own animal-control calls.
Residents from either jurisdiction who visit PACC for animal-care services will initially be referred to their town’s animal-control services. If they decide to use PACC, they will be charged a $60-a-day animal sheltering fee, a $120-an-hour veterinary-care fee, and a $120 euthanasia fee.
There is no additional fee to adopt an animal from PACC.
In the last few months, both towns opted against renewing intergovernmental agreements with the PACC, citing concerns over service levels and costs.
Both towns contracted with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona to handle some aspects of their animal-control needs, including boarding of animals.
The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on the revised fees, with Supervisor Steve Christy voting against the measure.
Marana Mayor Ed Honea said he was disappointed by the board’s decision, noting that Marana taxpayers pay the same taxes as those living in unincorporated areas of Pima County but will be charged additional fees.
He added that residents in Marana are also paying taxes related to the voter-approved expansion of the animal-care center.
The Sahuarita Town Council sent a letter to the county last month, making a similar argument about additional taxes.
“Residents should not be expected to pay for PACC through property taxes and an additional fee to gain access to the facility and services. This is, in its simplest form, double taxation of the residents,” the letter read.
Honea predicted that what he sees as a two-tiered pricing model — one for Marana and Sahuarita residents and one for everybody else — will be challenged, but wouldn’t elaborate.
The Marana mayor said he believes the town can do a superior job regarding animal control. On the first day that the town began taking calls, he said, out of the five dogs for which it received calls, four were immediately driven home to their owners.
