It was a relatively easy budget season for Onondaga County lawmakers this fall. Legislators unanimously approved County Executive Joanie Mahoney’s proposed $1.25 billion spending plan. There was only one hiccup; concern about spending more money for construction of a dog kennel at the Jamesville Correctional Facility.
The idea behind the kennel is that inmates would work with stray dogs destined to be put to sleep, and would solve two issues. It would make the animals more adoptable, therefore cutting back on a high number of animals that are euthanized in Onondaga County, and it would offer inmates an opportunity to work with these animals, which in other programs, has led to better behavior among the incarcerated and lowered recidivism.
Local animal rights groups would provide care and supplies for the 20-dog program. Lawmakers had already agreed to spend $250,000 on construction of a kennel, but wouldn’t come up with $100,000 more to get the project going.
Republican Kevin Holmquist is opposed to the whole idea, calling it a $350,000 boondoggle.
"The county is getting involved in a business that we have no business being involved in,” Holmquist said. “We should not be in the dog shelter business. We have professionals that can do that.”
Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon came up with a workaround when it became clear lawmakers wouldn’t pony up any more cash for the kennel, finding the $100,000 dollars from the Onondaga Civic Development Corporation,
"The Onondaga Civic Development Corporation was created to lessen the burdens of government through facilitating investments that will improve the life of Onondaga County citizens,” McMahon said. “That’s what the enabling legislation was. That’s what this project does, and that’s what this funding stream will do.”
McMahon says he expects the Onondaga Civic Development Corporation (OCDC) to come through with the cash.
"We’ll have a facility built and we’ll have a public-private partnership for the ongoing costs, the cost of medical treatment for the animals,” McMahon explained. “We’ve heard from many people over the past month that they’d be in for that. So it would be a good public-private partnership which could address a lot of issues in our community.”
He also says the kennel can help solve several problems at the same time.
“We believe in this program,” McMahon said. “We believe it will have very good results for two problems we have in Onondaga County; one being the euthanizing of dogs, the other being the overcrowding of jails. And hopefully with this program going forward, we’ll see recidivism rates drop.”
The OCDC will vote on the money for the kennel next month. If approved, construction could begin next year.
