Des Moines staff, Animal Rescue League propose smaller reclaim fees, first-time waivers and other changes to ease reunification

City staff and the Animal Rescue League of Iowa told the Des Moines City Council they are proposing a modest restructuring of animal licensing and reclaim fees to make it easier for low-income residents to reclaim lost pets and to reduce animals’ length of stay in the shelter.

Steve Rohrer, director of animal services with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, told the council the partnership’s Des Moines facility has increased adoptions and reuniting owners with pets since it opened. "In 2025, we had 2,755 adoptions out of our Des Moines animal services building," Rohrer said, adding that the facility’s live-release rate is high — about 93% for dogs and 86% for cats.

The proposal includes raising the annual license for altered animals from $15 to $20 (and the senior rate from $5 to $10), increasing the unaltered-animal license from $35 to $50, lowering microchip fees from $40 to $20, and raising the boarding fee from $12 to $20 per day to better match per-animal care costs. Rohrer also proposed waiving reclaim fees for a pet owner’s first impoundment (a one-time grace), with stepped reclaim surcharges for repeat incidents within a rolling lookback period.

Rohrer framed the changes as a mix of small revenue increases and targeted relief. "We want to be less punitive with first-time offenders of nonthreatening companion animals, which will increase reclaimed percentages and lower length of stay for shelter time for animals, which in turn will lower cost," he said. He noted the city’s fee schedule had not been substantially updated in more than 20 years and said neighboring cities charge higher license fees.

Council members questioned several administrative details: how the waiver would be tracked, whether the lookback window should reset annually or be cumulative, and who would cover costs when fees are waived. Staff said the reclaim-waiver proposal as discussed would leave taxpayers covering the waived cost; to balance that, license and boarding increases are intended to offset the subsidy.

After discussion, council members indicated a preference for a 24-month accumulative trial period to limit repeated leniency for habitual offenders. Council asked staff to draft ordinance language reflecting the fee schedule, the first-time waiver, and the recommended administrative rules, and return with data on how many owners would be affected.

The presentation also reviewed related operational work: expanded low- and no-cost wellness clinics, a mobile pet-food pantry, a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for community cats, and pilot arrangements to allow pets with people experiencing homelessness to be housed at partner sites. Sergeant Sean O'Neil, who previously served as the city’s chief humane officer, described interagency coordination and said the city has placed two animals at a shelter partner pilot while formal agreements and funding responsibilities are finalized.

Council direction: staff will prepare ordinance language and financial impact figures for a future meeting (staff said they aim to return as soon as possible, with draft language hoped for February).