ATLANTA — The bill for animal control in part of the metro Atlanta area is coming due, but it’s still unclear if the City of Atlanta will pay what Fulton County says it should.
On Tuesday, Channel 2′s Audrey Washington reported that the Fulton County Commission has a new contract for its animal control services.
Commission officials told Channel 2 Action News that the contract had been changed, and the Fulton Board of County Commissioners had asked the City of Atlanta to pay for its portion.
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The Board of County Commissioners said on March 21 that if Atlanta does not agree to pay a higher price for services, the county animal control might stop responding to calls from Atlanta residents as soon as Wednesay, April 3. That was the deadline to agree to the contract renewal for Atlanta.
As reported in March, Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts said all of the cities in the county agreed except for the City of Atlanta.
“Atlanta accounts for about 55% of all the calls that we receive, about 400 animals per month, and therefore their increase was much larger than the other cities,” Pitts said previously.
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Previously, Pitts said the discussion so far with city officials left him optimistic about reaching a new agreement.
Pitts told Channel 2 Action News that he understood some of the city’s hesitation, noting that due to sharp price increases and Atlanta’s portion of services, their portion of the contract was going from $2.5 million to $6.5 million.
No deal being reached between Fulton County and the City of Atlanta means there won’t be anyone to call if a dangerous animal is out and threatening neighborhoods.
However, in response to a Channel 2 Action News request for an update, city officials only said they were working to get an answer about the status of the agreement, or lackthereof.
As of the time of publication, it was still unclear if a new contract that includes Atlanta in Fulton County’s animal services agreement had been reached.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to city officials for an update and are waiting for their response.
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