Baldwin Park officials heard a study-session presentation Dec. 3 on a proposal to replace the city's contract with the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) with services provided by the Inland Valley Humane Society (IBHS). City staff said a formal agreement will be returned to the City Council for consideration at the Dec. 17 meeting if the council directs staff to proceed.

City staff told the council the city's contract with DACC (effective 07/01/2024–06/30/2029) has produced rapidly rising costs. An unidentified staff presenter said the city paid about $192,000 annually for full services in fiscal 2014–15 and that costs have grown "8 to tenfold," projecting between $1.6 million and $1.9 million for fiscal year 2025–26; staff also said the October invoice showed a single-month charge of $145,000. "Those increases ... raise urgent concerns about the budget sustainability of continuing under the current model," the presenter said.

Nicole Resiani, president and CEO of the Inland Valley Humane Society, outlined IBHS operations and the services the nonprofit would provide if Baldwin Park contracts with it: animal control response, sheltering, cruelty investigations, mobile vaccine and spay/neuter clinics (the "GoodMobile" with 30–35 surgeries per day), an on-site medical center opened in 2023, and community outreach and licensing programs. Resiani said IBHS is headquartered at 500 Humane Way in Pomona and currently contracts with multiple nearby cities; she also announced IBHS's planned acquisition of the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society and said IBHS will assume operations of that campus after the new year.

On cost, Resiani said IBHS gave Baldwin Park a gross cost quote of $1,000,085 for the first full year plus a $100,000 capital infrastructure investment; she explained the city would receive revenue credits (licensing, impound and care fees) that would reduce the net cost. Resiani said the first-year figure is a maximum and that IBHS's model is a shared-cost pool across participating cities. She told the council IBHS will provide monthly invoices and activity reports that break down calls for service, hours worked in the community, types of calls (dogs, cats, wildlife), euthanasia counts, adoptions, transfers and the live-release rate.

Council members questioned operational details: whether IBHS would park vehicles in Baldwin Park and how drop-off or relinquishment would be handled; Resiani said IBHS typically asks people to bring animals to Pomona but will dispatch officers for residents without transportation, noting priority calls remain dog bites and aggressive animals. On wildlife, Resiani said the nonprofit responds to injured animals and partners with Fish and Wildlife and agricultural weights and measures for specialized situations. On dead-animal pickup, IBHS said its internal policy aims to collect carcasses within 48 hours and that public-right-of-way hazards receive priority.

Councilmembers also pressed on cost controls and service metrics. Resiani said IBHS charges $70 per TNR (trap-neuter-return) cat and runs mobile low-cost spay/neuter clinics that typically cost residents $80–$150, compared with $400–$600 at private veterinarians. She said IBHS's quote includes biannual door-to-door licensing canvassing and that any decision to fund a dedicated on-duty animal-control officer in Baldwin Park would be discussed at contract renewal and depend on city funding.

City staff told the council that, with council direction, staff will return a proposed service agreement on Dec. 17 and that providing six months' notice to Los Angeles County would satisfy the city's contractual obligations to end the county arrangement. No formal vote or contract approval occurred at the Dec. 3 study session; the council moved into closed session after the presentation.

What happens next: Staff will prepare a draft contract for council consideration on Dec. 17 that will include the base price, itemized add-ons and the monthly activity-report format IBHS has described. The council will decide whether to authorize staff to give the county the six months' notice and execute a new agreement with IBHS.