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A fter the Park County Animal Shelter in Cody announced it was laying off half its staff due to a shortage of funds, a candidate for the Park County Commission has challenged all elected officials …
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After the Park County Animal Shelter in Cody announced it was laying off half its staff due to a shortage of funds, a candidate for the Park County Commission has challenged all elected officials and candidates in the county to donate to the shelter.
Karen Richard said she personally made a $100 donation.
Shelter Executive Director Jona Harris previously told the Tribune the issue stems from a drop-off in donations. She said while it’s easier to get people excited to donate to something like the new facility the shelter has been in since 2021, it’s harder to get donations for daily expenses.
Harris also noted her frustrations with the Park County commissioners, who declined a request to fund the shelter for the second year in a row. Harris said that as the shelter historically had received roughly $10,000 per year, she had asked for $20,000 for this year to account for having received nothing the year before.
Commissioner Lee Livingston had said the request was once again turned down due to a few programs most commissioners disagreed with, including a program to trap, neuter and release male stray cats in Cody and Powell, its determination to be designated a “no-kill shelter,” and, what Livingston said was the most concerning this year, the shelter’s decision to take in animals from other areas to adopt out.
Richard acknowledged the concerns, but said that with the county expending hundreds of thousands of dollars on organizations all over the county, “I would have liked to see the commissioners do more independent research before making the call to not donate to the shelter.”
She said she would have voted to give $10,000 to the shelter with the caveat of wanting to know how the money would be spent.
“$10,000 does not begin to cover operational expenses at the shelter, so what would this taxpayer money specifically be used for?” she said, adding that she would also be in favor of a group being started to help diversify and solicit donations for the shelter.
