Opinion: Animal Shelter Moving in Right Direction

Thank you, Mayor Raymond McCarthy and the township, for starting to move forward with creating an Request for Proposals for managing the animal shelter.   I have no personal stake in who runs the shelter, but like most people, I want to see a well run shelter and avoid future controversies, media relation disasters and lawsuits against our township.

Please ensure the RFP clearly states the requirements expected of the agency providing shelter management. Key performance indicators should be defined for all required services. The agency should provide reports with clear metrics to the township. There must also be a process to escalate complaints to the township and follow up with the service provider when needed. 

With the history of the Bloomfield Board of Health ignoring the town council’s wishes, I recommend considering changeing the board from autonomous to elected members and appointing some new ones. This will help ensure shelter complaints are properly handled.

It may also be wise to consider that the Neighbor to Neighbor Network members crusaded against Memphis the dog and his return to the Coltenbacks.  Memphis was misrepresented as aggressive and unpredictable when Jim Crosby, the expert paid by the Neighbor to Neighbor Network to evaluate him, stated otherwise.  

As stated previously, “Jim’s recommendation should have been used to support Jeff’s adoption request, not deny it”, and Crosby has approved my statements about his evaluation.

Thank you again for doing all in your power to ensure we have quality management at our shelter.