Greuel Says Dept. of Animal Services Oversight Tactics 'Unconscionable and Unacceptable'

The city's long-troubled Department of Animal Services has no inventory of the thousands of animals at its six shelters, and poor management led to unexplained revenue losses, according to an audit released Wednesday.

City Controller Wendy Greuel, who announced the findings of her audit during a morning news conference, said the problems discovered in her investigation are evidence of "an environment with the potential to jeopardize animal safety."

Greuel found that the department's lack of a physical inventory of shelter stock made it difficult to know if animals have been stolen or illegally sold by employees.

"That is unconscionable and unacceptable," Greuel said. Greuel lives in Studio City and used to represent Los Angeles Council District 2.

The department failed to bill dog owners who did not pay for their animal licenses the year prior, which led to the loss of $1.3 million in revenue of the last two years, Greuel said.

The audit found close to $125,000 in missing revenue from microchips implanted in animals to help link found pets to their owners.

Greuel issued a host of recommendations for the department, including stricter time-keeping for employees and sending license renewal notices to all pet owners in the department's database, regardless of whether they paid in previous years.

General Manager Brenda Barnette declined to respond to specific problems raised in the audit. But in an email statement, Barnette said, "The mayor and City Council are well aware of these problems. That's why they brought me on. I'm working hard every day to reform this department. I know we have a long road ahead and look forward to working with the controller and other city officials."

Animal Services has been plagued by scandal in recent years. Allegations of stolen animals at a Lincoln Heights shelter became public last spring. Some Animal Services employees were also allegedly paid after filling out time cards fraudulently.

Animal Services runs six shelters across the city and licensed 110,850 animals in the 2010-11 fiscal year. A private operator recently began managing a new San Fernando Valley shelter that had remained closed because the department did not have enough money to hire staff to open the facility.

Barnette was tapped to head the department in June 2010 after a year-long search to replace former General Manager Ed Boks, who resigned in 2009 after he lost the confidence of Animal Services staff and some City Council members.

- City News Service