The current crisis notwithstanding, local budget forecasts are the next priority for our upcoming city council agendas. Funding the Pocatello Animal Shelter has long been its ugly stepchild. Nearly every Pocatello neighborhood has had its issues with feral cats. There exists now a viable Trap/Neuter solution, proposed and funded by a private grant, to begin to neutralize this emerging problem. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to dramatically exacerbate it. The simple fix rests entirely in the hands of Blad and the City Council.

A $50,000 Best Friends Animal Society TNR grant sits on the mayors desk awaiting approval. Identical grants have already been adopted in Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Hailey, SLC and scores of national communities with extraordinary success. The Council needs only to budget an additional shelter employee to get the project on its feet. Statistics from the above mentioned cities reflect a huge (60 to 80 percent) decrease in seasonal kitten litters as well as substantial euthanasia cost reductions which can easily exceed $50,000 annually here. These are wasted dollars that serve no benefit in controlling the overall feral cat populations.

Our tax dollars are there to serve us, not private interests. Every property owner is taxed for services the city provides. Tax dollars should in turn be administered to serve the interests of the taxpayer, which includes the right to an environmentally healthy and comfortable neighborhood. Our local volunteer animal rescue groups are overwhelmed with tasks and lack manpower only receiving funding from private donations. There are no other alternatives to resolving this ongoing issue. With the current lockdown restrictions, conditions will overwhelm us. Contact the mayor’s office and Council member’s now to avert a further crisis this summer. We are on the front lines. Believe us!

George Deeb,

Pocatello