Citygate is currently performing an animal care feasibility study for Davis County, Utah. This assessment will review Animal Care of Davis County’s ability to meet the County’s current and growing animal care needs, evaluate and describe a range of options to provide animal shelter services, and estimate the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of alternatives. This will include an in-depth operational assessment of Animal Care of Davis County to provide the foundation for recommendations on the needs of a new animal shelter facility.

Citygate will assist Salt Lake City in evaluating the implementation of the building service process review completed by Citygate. This will also entail an analysis of the Building Services division’s performance measurement and management system. Citygate is also providing “on-call” auditing services for the City to assess performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop specific recommendations for action in the programs or functions selected by the City.

Citygate performed an animal services Joint Powers Authority feasibility analysis for the City of Pasadena, California, and 11 potential additional partner cities, with the goal of exploring options for providing a quality animal services program that will manage costs for their respective cities. This analysis looked at the projected costs involved in formation of two models for the JPA: (1) a full-service JPA providing all animal services functions, and (2) a JPA providing only field services.

Stemming from Citygate’s evaluation of the performance of the current vendor providing animal care and control services for San Mateo County, California, Citygate provided technical consulting support for the County’s efforts to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for the contract period for one or more vendor(s) to provide those same services to the County and its member cities. This project included providing detailed requirements and specifications for the services to be performed by the prospective vendor(s) as described in the upcoming RFP; minimum reporting requirements to be met by the vendor(s); and recommended evaluation criteria presented in the RFP, along with an associated scoring sheet to be used by the County during the evaluation of proposals received in response to the RFP.

Citygate provided an independent evaluation of the City of Sacramento Animal Care Services Division’s efficiency and effectiveness and the appropriateness of existing services and processes, best management practices, and benchmarking compared to agencies of similar size. Citygate also provided an operational review of the Division for the City, with recommendations on policies to implement and ways to streamline workflow, enrich services, and increase safety for customers and staff. The study also included a workload and staffing analysis to evaluate the appropriateness of the staffing level and ensure fees provide an optimal level of cost recovery.

Citygate completed an independent evaluation and assessment of the St. Louis County Animal Services policies, practices, standard operating procedures, veterinary protocols, and facilities. This evaluation examined compliance with the Missouri Department of Agriculture Animal Care Facilities Act, the Association of Shelter Veterinarian standards and guidelines, and best practices; identified areas for improvements; and made recommendations on tasks necessary to increase the live release rate, eliminate pet overpopulation in the community and decrease the number of animals coming into the facility, and improve Animal Care and Control’s current processes and procedures. Citygate received continual praise from the County throughout the engagement. Our project report was even accepted without revision! In the year following Citygate’s evaluation, as the County implemented Citygate’s recommendations, the euthanasia rate declined from 20 percent to 4 percent and the Public Health Deputy Director indicated that conditions at the shelter “improved dramatically.”

Citygate was contracted to evaluate the performance of the contracted vendor, the Peninsula Humane Society and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PHS), in San Mateo County. This audit specifically examined contractual compliance, as well as whether the necessary animal shelter operational elements—including budget, data systems, policies and procedures, staffing, shelter operations, field operations, medical operations—existed to increase performance and transparency, providing accountability and handling procedural issues. The budget review for this project identified how the revenue derived from the County contract is specifically allocated to animal control and shelter services—shelter and field services, spay and neuter (veterinary services), and management and general budget elements—and not used in other areas of the larger PHS budget. The review also identified potential revenue enhancements that could be used to increase PHS service levels to the County. As part of this project, Citygate interviewed and surveyed the city managers and police chiefs from the 18 cities that contract with San Mateo County for animal services.

Citygate completed a high-level field operations and sheltering practices cost analysis for the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department. This study assisted the County in determining the cost efficacy of the service it provided to the 18 cities with which it contracts and whether its current service delivery policies were aligned with its reimbursement practices, especially in light of County and contract city growth and sheltering overpopulation in an environment in which citizens expect increasingly efficient and compassionate care.

Citygate was asked by the north San Diego County cities of San Marcos, Oceanside, and Escondido to conduct a technical review of the costs, timing, and risks associated with alternative service delivery methods, including a proposed animal services Joint Powers Authority (JPA). Citygate examined the Cities’ estimated equipment start-up costs, staffing costs, staffing levels, estimated revenues, estimated facility costs, financing costs, and estimated annual operating costs. Citygate also reviewed, at a high level, the estimated timelines that had been prepared regarding the formation of the JPA, the issuance of bonds, acquisition of facilities and equipment, permitting, construction, staffing, and training.

Citygate has completed multiple executive searches for the City of Los Angeles, most recently for the General Manager of the Personnel Department. The candidate was well received by the City, and Citygate’s efforts were lauded by the Deputy Mayor. Other executive searches have included: General Manager and Assistant General Manager of the Information Technology Agency, General Manager of Animal Services, and Deputy Director of Planning.