DEARBORN — The Dearborn animal shelter, Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit, has a contract with the city ending on July 1 and currently no contract agreement.

The June 26 City Council meeting ended in a stalemate over a more than 50 percent budget increase requested by the nonprofit that runs the shelter.

Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit has operated the shelter on behalf of the city since 1997 and has asked for an annual increase of more than 50 percent in what the city pays for their services, while shelter leadership argues that they are only asking the city to pay the true cost of the city-required four day hold and care for strays.

Cory Keller, the nonprofit’s president and CEO, said they are hopeful for an agreement to be reached.

“I hope that with the administration and City Council and our organization, we can have a more thoughtful conversation and come to some sort of agreement before July 1,” Keller said. “I hope that we can come to some sort of conclusion of partnership because I think that the city of Dearborn really needs to understand the value we provide to the community.”

The contract is capped at $295,000 a year, but the nonprofit is now seeking $457,000 to meet actual costs with no cap, because the agency doesn’t control the number of stray animals that are brought in. 

Under the proposed new contract, the nonprofit would receive $282 per cat and $324 per dog. This rate was presented by the nonprofit as non-negotiable, arguing that the city should pay the actual costs and that the past contracts did not fairly reflect operating costs.

The higher rates are related to the rising costs in the animal welfare industry and the nonprofit operating its own facility.

A key argument made by the city was the cost of sterilizing animals before adoption which is required under Michigan law. The nonprofit covers these costs through city funding, while other cities do not offer funding for this.

During the meeting Mayor Abdullah Hammoud presented data comparing Dearborn’s contract to other cities in Wayne County, which Keller disputed, saying it doesn’t reflect Dearborn’s situation.

Since the contract negotiations began in the spring, Hammoud and City Council members presented offers to compromise, including a multi-year contract or temporary cost compromise followed by negotiations, both of which the nonprofit rejected.

The city said that negotiations are going to continue ahead of the contract expiration and if an emergency vote is needed to be called for, it will be.