Animal Care Millage Has Helped Department Handle Large Population of Dogs and Cats With Efficiency and Compassion

Genesee County voters will be asked to renew the Genesee County Animal Care millage on November 3 election ballots.

The millage, initially approved by voters in 2015, was renewed for seven years in 2020. It is on the ballot in 2026 for budget continuity purposes. Residents pay about 19 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value to help fund operations and facilities at Genesee County Animal Care, a high-volume facility that provides a wide range of services to residents and the animal population within Genesee County. 

If renewed with a yes vote, it would simply be a continuation of what residents are already paying, so they’d notice no change or increase in their tax bills. The millage provides a vital portion of Animal Care’s budget, generating an estimated $2.7 million. The renewal would be for seven more years.

“The millage is actually huge for us,” said Jay Parker, director of Genesee County Animal Care. “We’ve increased the number of animals we take care of. In 2021, I think we were dealing with between 2,000 and 2,500 animals (per year). Now we’re at about a 110 percent increase. We’re actually dealing with 4,000 animals, so there’s quite an increase in animals that have been coming in over the years.”

Parker notes that he’s proud of how efficiently the staff and volunteers at Genesee County Animal Care have maintained services without budget or millage increases despite that large increase in volume. 

“That’s the wonderful thing, we operate pretty efficiently now compared to the old days,” Parker said. “When you consider Oakland County, they work on a budget that’s twice our size, but they deal with about the same amount of animals, maybe a couple hundred more, I think, last year. We really do run a pretty tight ship.”

In addition to the things most people associate with animal care facilities – taking in stray or unwanted animals and enforcing applicable local animal laws and ordinances – their services have expanded to include a wide range of community-oriented initiatives including vaccination clinics and adoption events, reuniting lost pets with their owners, and stepping up to care for and find foster placements for neglected animals during emergencies, like when dozens of dogs and cats were seized from a neglect situation in Flint Township earlier this year. 

Genesee County Animal Care also runs a trap, neuter, and release (TNR) program with several volunteers and partners in the community. Many areas have issues with feral cats, so the TNR program allows them to trap cats and kittens and spay and neuter them to prevent the feral cat population from expanding. 

They’ve created a sort of “food bank” where people can donate food for animals in the shelter, but also help people in the community in need. Parker estimates they’ve given away about 24,000 pounds of food through that program.

“We assist people with animals that aren’t necessarily our animals, but people are having a tough time feeding them because of the economy or other things going on,” Parker said. “I’m hoping to expand in the future to where we have the ability to operate more low-cost spay and neuter clinics where it would be a lot less than some of the other places. It’s tough for people to get a kitten or a puppy and then have to spend another $400 to get it fixed.”

This will be the first millage where “Animal Care” is in the ballot language rather than “Animal Control.” Earlier this year, the Genesee County Board of Commissioners approved a name change that better reflects the organization’s mission. They are a no-kill shelter, and their staff and volunteers spend significant time working with animals to alleviate any health issues they have, get them more comfortable around people or other animals, and help get them adopted into new homes. Parker notes that the staff and volunteers work from places of deep compassion and service to the community and its animals.

Voters seem to have noticed, too. The millage initially passed by about 5,000 votes in 2015. In 2020, it passed by more than 25,000 votes.

“If you go back 15, 20 years around the Flint area, animal control was exactly what you’d think of: a pound,” Parker said. “That isn’t what we are anymore. We have a great group of people that care for animals. When people come in, they can really see the difference that we’ve made just in the last few years. This millage is a renewal, so it’s not anything extra (beyond the current tax rate), and it basically allows us to continue to operate. I think that’s a really bipartisan thing. I think everyone wants to take care of animals.”