The city’s Animal Services Office released a draft of its 2025-2030 strategic plan on Jan. 8. Enumerated in the draft is the office’s vision “to provide services and resources that allow people and animals to thrive in the city of Austin.”
The Animal Advisory Commission was presented the strategic plan at its regular meeting on Jan. 13, receiving a large amount of public interest and comments. Ryan Clinton, chair of the Animal Advisory Commission, stated that the commission purposefully did not put an action item on the agenda for this meeting. “Today is an opportunity for us to listen,” Clinton said.
As cited on the city’s website, the commission functions to advise on compliance with state law, animal welfare policies and budget priorities and “promote collaboration between the City and interested parties relating to animal welfare in the city; identify proactive, creative approaches to engage and facilitate communication within animal welfare community; and foster and assist the development of animal welfare programs in the community.” Clinton reminded commissioners and meeting attendees of these functions before starting the meeting, noting the commission has no power to enact legislation and that all current commissioners serve on a volunteer basis.
Eight individuals registered for public comment. Half of the speakers advocated concerns on behalf of the Trap-Neuter-Return program. Other comments ranged from budgetary questions regarding the strategic plan to issues with the adopt a pet software used by the Austin Animal Center.
Assistant City Manager Susana Carbajal, Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland and Budget and Performance Manager Audrey Muntz presented the strategic planning update to the commission.
A working group was created by the city to develop the strategic plan. The group gathered feedback from stakeholders and, using their expertise in animal welfare, helped develop a strategic plan during a series of workshops, Muntz said.
Preparation for this process began in spring 2024. Phase one’s purpose was to “understand (Animal Services Office’s) current state and gather feedback from stakeholders, including staff, volunteers, partners, and the community to ensure the strategic plan is responsive to the needs, priorities, and aspirations of stakeholders,” as cited in the presentation. A community survey was conducted with 2,041 participants. Listening sessions were held with 40 volunteers and 94 employees from the Animal Services Office.
The plan focuses on six areas: humane care, spay-neuter, open intake, live release, public health and safety, and staff and volunteers.
Humane care concentrates on animals’ physical and emotional needs, as referenced in the presentation. Spay-neuter emphasizes reducing the amount of stray, unowned and unwanted animals. Open intake highlights the Austin Animal Center’s capacity to accept animals, facilitate care by partners and the public, and assist people in keeping their pets. Live release prioritizes maximizing the number of animals that are adopted, rescued, transferred or returned to their owners. Public health and safety pertains to ensuring the health and safety of the public and animals by providing resources and information, working with community partners, and responding efficiently to animal-related concerns. Staff and volunteers addresses recruiting and retaining well-trained and dedicated staff and volunteers.
Each of the six goals has applicable measures. “These measures will be used to track progress toward achieving the goal and inform us on whether to modify or sustain its approach to reach the desired outcome,” Muntz said. Staff at the Animal Services Office will develop targets for each measure and may create additional measures during the strategic plan’s implementation.
Public interest in the strategic plan is high, as shown by the number of public comments logged at this regular meeting alone. The Animal Advisory Commission is available to hear community members’ concerns on the issue at every monthly meeting and will take suggestions into account when reviewing the plan.
The Animal Advisory Commission will discuss the strategic plan at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 10.
“Upon the commissioners’ discussion, staff will take the strategic plan to an Austin City Council meeting tentatively in March for Council consideration and adoption,” Carbajal said. The implementation phase would follow Council’s adoption of the plan.
The Austin Monitor’s work is made possible by donations from the community. Though our reporting covers donors from time to time, we are careful to keep business and editorial efforts separate while maintaining transparency. A complete list of donors is available here, and our code of ethics is explained here.
And we’re honored you look to us for serious, in-depth news. You know a strong community needs local and dedicated watchdog reporting. We’re here for you and that won’t change. Now will you take the powerful next step and support our nonprofit news organization?
Animal Advisory Commission: The Animal Advisory Commission advises the Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court on Texas Health and Safety Code compliance regarding animal shelters and on animal welfare policies.
Animal Services: This is the city department tasked with running the city's animal shelter, providing care to more than 20,000 animals a year, and maintaining Austin's no-kill status.
