Charleston County Administrator Releases Statement, Addresses Charleston Animal Society Misinformation

CAS CLAIM 1:

The lack of fair payment for the services¹ led us to terminate our existing contract with the county over a year and a half ago², but throughout the past 18 months we have continued to take in all animals and negotiate in good faith. This includes the 142 animals from Charleston County that have entered our care since December 1st that would have fallen under the contract previously.

COUNTY RESPONSE

• ¹ County officials have repeatedly requested additional information itemizing and justifying costs attributed to the county by CAS. Those requests were repeatedly left unaddressed, which temporarily delayed some monthly payments.
• On Nov. 1, when the county terminated its contract with CAS, officials provided a $600,000.00 check covering any remaining costs. See attached signed acknowledgement of receipt of that check.
• ²CAS did not terminate the agreement. Rather, it was mutually agreed upon that regular payments and services would continue as we worked toward a new, improved contract agreed upon by both parties. See attached proof of payments made over the past 12 months.
• This arrangement continued until the county terminated the agreement on Nov. 1, 2024. See attached signed 30-day notice of termination.

CAS CLAIM 2:

If you live in the cities of Charleston, North Charleston, or the Town of Mount Pleasant, the County is proposing that the county taxes you pay should not cover these services in your community. and instead should only cover those living outside of the municipalities. If everyone pays county taxes, shouldn’t all citizens within the county be covered by these services¹?

COUNTY RESPONSE

• ¹ This is not a new proposal being made by the county, but a longstanding interpretation of the now-terminated agreement in which county funds were authorized to cover the cost of Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) animal control officers (ACOs) delivering animals from unincorporated Charleston County to CAS.
• Regarding payment by the municipalities, the county has never negotiated or weighed in on vendor agreements held by other jurisdictions and doesn’t plan to start now.

CAS CLAIM 3:

In the proposed contract, the County has recommended that we kill any animal in our care after the South Carolina-mandated 5-day stray hold¹. This is not a position we can support. Imagine if you lose a beloved pet, and after 6 days of searching for them, the animal is put to death because of the County's position². This is why we are fighting for a fair contract.

COUNTY RESPONSE

• ¹ Nowhere in the proposed contract does Charleston County “recommend that [CAS] kill any animal” period, full stop. That is a blatant scare tactic and gross misrepresentation of the truth.
• In its draft new scope of services, the county proposes to cover the cost of animals delivered to CAS by CCSO ACOs and kept at CAS for a period of 5 days, per state law:
  • Section 1.09 Pursuant to S.C. Code § 47-3-540, the owner of positively identifiable dog has fourteen days in which to pick up the dog from the Animal Shelter. The reasonable costs associated with the extended holding period beyond the five days described in Charleston County Code 3-5(c) are costs that must be paid by the owner before the dog is returned. The County shall not be responsible for this additional cost, or any waiver thereof by the Contractor.
• While we have denied recent requests to provide the proposed new agreement due to the ongoing nature of this contract negotiation process, that assumed level of privacy appears to have emboldened CAS to fabricate contract terms and mislead the public regarding the county’s position. As such, please see the attached proposed scope of services document delivered to CAS Nov. 26, 2024.
• ² Again, the proposed agreement outlines costs that the county can reasonably be expected to cover. CAS is both entitled and encouraged to run their operation as they see fit, including allowing for longer hold times. However, it is simply unrealistic to expect Charleston County taxpayers to cover 100 percent of this cost.

CAS CLAIM 4:

Throughout the contract talks, we have continued to be as transparent as possible. Click Here to see the detailed invoice we send to the County showing each and every County animal brought to us¹ and the address where they were found², using the County's GIS. As counties across the state are moving forward on bettering the lives of the animals and citizens of their communities, our County Government is trying to take us backwards. Let's make your voices heard -- the animals need you now more than ever.

COUNTY RESPONSE

• ¹ As demonstrated by CAS, the county was sent monthly invoices that included 1. A total number of animals, 2. A total dollar amount, and 3. A list of addresses. However, none of the invoices presented to the county justified or itemized the individual costs attributed to the county or its animals.
• County officials, including internal auditors, repeatedly requested more detailed breakdowns to better understand what specific costs were being incurred by each animal and wrapped into the total dollar amount. Those requests were never sufficiently addressed. See attached audit of CAS completed earlier this year.
• ² While the list of addresses included on invoices was meant to justify costs incurred by unincorporated Charleston County, many addresses were found to instead be located within area municipalities and even neighboring counties. See attached excerpted invoice as one such example.

So, what happens now?

Since the county terminated its agreement with CAS, it began working closely with Pet Helpers, a local animal welfare organization based on James Island, to continue providing animal services to the community.

Charleston County Sheriff’s Office animal control officers are currently delivering animals they encounter to Pet Helpers, where they receive outstanding care. The county’s decades-long commitment to providing animal control services to unincorporated parts of the county remains, and we look forward to continuing to work alongside Pet Helpers to achieve that goal.