Donations far outpaced spending at Multnomah County animal shelter despite deteriorating conditions, says auditor report

The Multnomah County Animal Services has been sitting on more than $1.5 million in donations and government funds collected over the past five years, according to an investigatory report from the auditor’s office.

Meanwhile, animal care and staffing conditions deteriorated drastically during that time, as OPB reported in a series earlier this year. County leaders this spring scrutinized years of negative audit reports that listed several examples of mismanagement, many of which had been left unaddressed.

Last week’s report adds to the list. It says between July 2018 and this May, Animal Services received almost $2 million in donations and $125,000 in county funds. Those funds were put into accounts meant for veterinary expenses, adoption outreach, improvements to the shelter facility, and spay-neuter surgeries. During that time, shelter management only spent $627,500, or about 30%, of those funds.

“The significance of this is not the large balances themselves, but what these balances indicate: lost opportunities to use these funds to provide important and necessary services to animals and the community,” the report reads.

The auditor’s office investigated the funds after receiving a tip on its Good Government Hotline.

Thousands of people donated money to the Multnomah County animal shelter expecting those funds to go toward crucial services like animal care, the report reads. But year after year, donations coming into the shelter far outpaced spending.

Shelter management blamed the lack of spending on staffing shortages, changes in leadership, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Management also blamed the department’s lack of clear policies and procedures outlining how to spend those funds.

In the report, auditor Jennifer McGuirk said Animal Services’ failure to use donations appears “to be largely based on lack of clear policies, procedures, and planning.” McGuirk recommended that within the next three months, the department develop a plan for spending donations and county budgetary allocations. Auditors further recommended that Animal Services stop asking the public for donations until that plan is implemented.

Since the late 1990s, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has allocated $25,000 annually to the Animal Services department — money generated from pet licensing fees. Those funds were put into the shelter’s spay-neuter fund to support surgeries for low-income families. Animal Services has spent just over $42,000 of this fund over the past five years, leaving the account with a balance of over $315,000 as of May.

Animal Services stopped performing most spay-neuter surgeries and rabies vaccinations last year, in response to its own internal staffing challenges as well as a national veterinary worker shortage. It instead relies on a voucher system, in which adopters can redeem spay/neuter and vaccination services at other veterinary clinics weeks, sometimes months after they bring their pet home.

Some of the donations and county funds also went toward an account called the Shelter Dreams Fund, which is meant to help improve the current shelter facility or fund a new facility altogether. The shelter is located in the county’s former jail in Troutdale; many past reports have indicated it needs significant improvements to better serve animals, and management has long considered moving to a new location. Nonetheless, the Animal Services department hasn’t taken significant steps toward moving the shelter. Instead, it has made minor improvements to the current facility, like adding gravel to outside play areas.

In a statement Wednesday, a county spokesperson said shelter leaders are tackling the issue.

“Current leaders inherited this long-standing problem,” the statement reads. “But we have new leadership at the County, the Department of Community Services and the Multnomah County Animal Services and we are prioritizing the responsible and effective use of these resources.”