Animal Control and intergovernmental agreements, or IGAs, have been the topic of discussion for the DeWitt County Public Safety Committee in recent months. 

At Thursday night's meeting, the Committee continued discussion over the Animal Control budget and how revenue can be increased. Animal Control Administrator Grace Moore was asked by Chair Megan Myers to determine what percentage of the animals that they take in were from Clinton. She stated that it's roughly 70%. 

John Werts brought up the topic of surrender fees, which were not increased when the Committee performed the Animal Control Cost Study recently. One concern is if fees are increased, people will stop surrendering animals and rather just release them into the wild. 

Werts reiterated that Animal Control is a governmental service, and is not designed to be a "money-maker" for the County. That does not, however, mean that they have an unlimited budget. He says that things need to be kept under control. 

While Animal Control does operate at a loss for the County, the Committee commended Moore for a job well done when it comes to following up on fines and fees, and creating a significant increase in revenue for the department. 

The Committee decided that they would revisit the cost study once again, to make sure they are taking advantage of all the opportunities they can to recoup Animal Control expenses.