Council approves furnace payment for Humane Shelter; member urges commissioners to revisit larger funding

The Steuben County Council on Feb. 10 approved a $3,900 appropriation from the County Option Dog Tax Fund to cover a new furnace for the Steuben County Humane Shelter after the shelter reported a cracked heat exchanger.

Steve Mumby, representing the Humane Society, told the council the old furnace was unsafe and asked that $3,900 be appropriated to line item 1129-000-3000.01 (Misc. Disbursements). Dan Caruso moved to approve the request; Wil Howard seconded and the motion carried with five ayes.

Councilman Ken Shelton used the moment to press a broader funding concern. Shelton said the Steuben County Commissioners declined on Feb. 2 to recommend additional funding for the shelter and warned that, based on information from Mumby, operating costs could continue to rise and the shelter might be unable to sustain service. Shelton said he would ask the commissioners to reconsider and, if necessary, pass the request to the county council for funding review.

President Richard Shipe told the council there is an annual contractual agreement between the commissioners and the Humane Society for $18,000, paid in two $9,000 installments, but said the 2015 contract has not been fully executed. Shipe said the commissioners’ apparent intent was to bring larger funding decisions back to the council during the 2016 budget hearings. Mumby said the shelter has declined the 2015 contract pending consideration of the additional funding request and that the shelter’s board has not yet met with an architect or produced an operating pro forma for a proposed new building.

Shelton argued the county council should be given the chance to weigh longer-term funding options now, noting potential staffing and service implications for the sheriff’s department if shelter resources are constrained. Shipe recommended Shelton formally petition the commissioners to revisit their earlier decision; Shelton agreed to present the issue at the next commissioners meeting.

The council took no further action on broader funding at the Feb. 10 meeting. The immediate furnace appropriation was approved as a single-purpose payment to address the shelter’s urgent equipment failure.