Windsor humane society takes funding cut in new contract
Animal control services in the Windsor region will rely more on donations from the community after public funding approved at city council Monday night came in a little low.
Officials with the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society secured a new five-year contract with the City of Windsor, hammering out a deal that will see the society receive $922,579 in the first year, followed by annual increases of two per cent.
That figure comes in lower than the $1,039,556 the society received last year — and what it was asking for again — but the amount is still enough to give executive director Melanie Coulter a little security.
"We are committed to maintaining the level of services. We hoped the city would agree to cover all the costs of those services, obviously that didn't happen," she said after the decision.
The humane society received more than $1 million for just a single year after its last five-year deal expired June 30, 2016. The previous deal saw the society receive $852,320 a year.
Receiving less money than expected, the humane society will rely more on fundraising and donations from the community in order to cover the costs of services, according to Coulter.
"We felt it wasn't fair to ask our donors to subsidize municipal services and that's why we put in a higher bid," she said. "But, we want those services to continue in Windsor."
