Alachua County currently handles cases for animal abuse, dog fights and strays through its Animal Services Department, but county officials gave tentative approval to shift these functions to the sheriff’s department.  

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) directed its staff on Tuesday to move forward with the idea and bring back more concrete details for how the agreement would work.  

County staff said they had discussed the plan for several months, but the overarching idea has existed since former Sheriff Sadie Darnell was in office.  

Under the plan, Alachua County would enter a contract with Sheriff Chad Scott for the sheriff’s office to provide animal control services—abuse investigations, strays, etc. These services would not include operating the shelter, caring for animals or coordinating adoptions.  

Assistant County Manager Gina Peebles said the goal is to improve animal services and the impact on citizens.  

“Ultimately, this collaboration would strengthen public trust while advancing the county’s animal welfare goals,” Peebles told the commission. “Meanwhile, the county could dedicate our resources to improving adoption efforts and increase the live release rate of our shelter animals.” 

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) would try to hire all the current animal control officers housed within the Animal Services Department. The employees would need to pass a background check before becoming a civilian member of the department with access to investigative databases.  

Undersheriff Josh Crews told the county that the plan is only viable if a majority of animal control staff join the sheriff’s office. He said ACSO doesn’t want to start up the Animal Services Bureau from scratch.  

Crews said the change will impact the sheriff’s office and take time. He said the easy route would be for the office to not consider adding this responsibility, but he said ACSO leadership believes the switch will benefit the public and increase safety.  

Crews said the sheriff’s office would adopt the exact same policies and procedures that animal control already uses. The biggest benefits would be access to ACSO databases for investigations, quick communication with deputies for backup and body cameras to protect officers and provide a legal safeguard. 

The county’s animal control team already coordinates with the sheriff’s office and reaches out for backup, but currently, the staff must call 911 to have deputies respond instead of an integrated unit.  

Crews said that as part of the office, ACSO will have live GPS on the animal control officers and be able to respond rapidly. 

County Manager Michele Lieberman said 23 other counties in Florida also place animal control services under the sheriff. She said the change, while scary like all unknowns, will benefit the county and public in the long term.  

In the short term, Lieberman said moving animal control to ACSO will involve a monetary increase. The contract would likely cause a $800,000 jump in the budget for one-time expenses. 

In total, Alachua County backup documents show that the sheriff’s Animal Services Bureau would cost $2 million for the first year. Those funds include $1.3 million in recurring expenses (like salaries) and $750,000 in one-time expenses (like vehicles, radios and uniforms).  

The bureau would have eight animal resources and care officers, three animal investigations officers and two managing sergeants. 

Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler said from the start that she didn’t like the idea of moving animal services underneath law enforcement. She said it could be a perception issue for members of the community and could make citizens reluctant to reach out for services.  

“I still don’t know what has happened at the shelter that’s made it look like that we need to do this,” Wheeler said. 

Commissioner Ken Cornell jumped in. He said it’s the first time the county has had a sheriff willing to take on the task and supported the change.  

Lieberman said her philosophy is always to look at potential improvements. Just because it’s not broken, doesn’t mean you don’t tweak or change it, she said.  

“It is not always easy to see a change,” Lieberman said. “But we are not reinventing the wheel here; we’re not forging new ground. We have looked at this considerably before we have brought you this recommendation because there are 23 other counties that are doing this across the state.” 

Lieberman added that some of the other sheriff’s offices manage the shelters as well. She said the county will negotiate with the sheriff’s office to make sure the terms work for the county. If the contract is agreed upon at the staff level, it’ll be returned to the BOCC for approval.  

If the two sides can’t agree, Lieberman said the county would explore the option and continue to operate the animal control functions.  

Alachua County is also working to build a new animal shelter. The county is in discussions with UF for a location, but started exploring another option in June.