REGULAR MEETING OF THE ANIMAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2025, AT 6:00 P.M. AUSTIN CITY HALL, ROOM 1101 301 WEST 2ND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Animal Advisory Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, contact Nekaybaw Watson at nekaybaw.watson@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2562. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Dr. Paige Nilson, Chair, D4 Koby Ahmed, Mayor Ryan Clinton, Travis County Beatriz Dulzaides, D2 Jennifer Daniel, D6 Erin Ferguson, D8 Ann Linder, Vice Chair, D3 Whitney Holt, D5 Sarah Huddleston, D9 David Loignon, D10 Nancy Nemer, Travis County Jo Anne Norton, Parliamentarian, D7 CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL AGENDA The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three- minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Animal Advisory Commission Regular meeting on November 10, 2025. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing regarding monthly reports. Presentation by Rolando Fernandez, Interim Chief Animal Services Officer, Austin Animal Services. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. Update on the recruitment process for the Austin Animal Services Director. Presentation by Rodney Crain, Senior Consultant, MGT. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodations no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please email or call Nekaybaw Watson at Austin City Clerk’s Office, at nekaybaw.watson@austintexas.gov or 512-974- 2562 to request service or for additional information. For more information on the Animal Advisory Commission, please contact Nekaybaw Watson at nekaybaw.watson@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2562.
Animal Advisory Commission Minutes November 10, 2025 Animal Advisory Commission Regular Meeting Minutes Monday, November 10, 2025 The Animal Advisory Commission convened in a regular meeting on Monday, November 10, 2025, at Austin City Hall, 301 W 2nd St, Room 1101 in Austin, Texas. Parliamentarian Norton called the Animal Advisory Commission meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Dr. Paige Nilson, Chair, D4 Jennifer Daniel, D6 Erin Ferguson, D8 David Loignon, D10 Jo Anne Norton, Parliamentarian, D7 Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Ann Linder, Vice Chair, D3 Beatriz Dulzaides, D2 Whitney Holt, D5 Commissioners Absent: Koby Ahmed, Mayor Ryan Clinton, Travis County Sarah Huddleston, D9 Nancy Nemer, Travis County PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Suzie Chase – Recap of Austin Animal Welfare Town Hall Pat Valls-Trelles – No Response Edith Grisel Rios – Dog Finder Resource Struggles Robin Katz Gonzalez – AAS Shelter Direction Rochelle Vickery – Cat release at Airport Kristyn Williams – Budget and Community Cats APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1 Animal Advisory Commission Minutes November 10, 2025 1. Approve the minutes of the Animal Advisory Commission Regular Meeting on October 13, 2025. The motion to approve the minutes of the Animal Advisory Commission Regular Meeting on October 13, 2025, was approved on Parliamentarian Norton’s motion, Commissioner Holt’s second on an 8-0 vote. Commissioners Ahmed, Clinton, Huddelston, and Nemer were absent. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. 4. 5. Staff briefing regarding monthly reports provided by Jason Garza, Assistant Director, Austin Animal Services and Rolando Fernandez, Interim Chief Animal Services Officer, Austin Animal Services. The presentation was made by Jason Garza, Assistant Director, Austin Animal Services and Rolando Fernandez, Interim Chief Animal Services Officer, Austin Animal Services. Staff briefing on the implementation status of Shelter buddy. Presentation by Rolando Fernandez, Interim Chief Animal Services Officer, Austin Animal Services. The presentation was made by Mary Brown, Program Manager, Austin Animal Services, Melissa Pool, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, Austin Animal Services, and Rolando Fernandez, Interim Chief Animal Services Officer, Austin Animal Services. Staff briefing on the Strategic Plan Dashboard. Presentation by Juany Torres, Strategic Plan Project Manager, Austin Animal Services. The presentation was made by Juany Torres, Strategic Plan Project Manager, Austin Animal Services. DISCUSSION ITEMS 6. Update on the recruitment process for the Austin Animal Services Director. Presentation by Rodney Crain, Senior Consultant, MGT. The presentation was made by Rodney Crain, Senior Consultant, MGT. WORKING GROUP UPDATE 7. Update from the Strategic Plan Working …
City of Austin Animal Services Director Recruitment- Update Animal Advisory Commission Meeting December 8, 2025 1 Agenda 1. MGT Introduction 2. Building the Profile 3. Current Status 4. Next Steps 5. Q&A MGT Team Rodney Crain, Senior Consultant Human Capital Solutions Mary Jacobs, Director Human Capital Solutions • 40 years of HR leadership in both public and • Nearly 30 years experience in city management. private sectors. • Expertise in executive search/coaching and organizational design. • Developed staffing models, succession planning, and change management techniques. • Led efforts to support diverse hiring and formerly incarcerated applicants in Austin. • Focuses on building organizational capability through talent assessment and retention. • Expertise in strategic planning, leadership development, organizational assessments, and executive recruitment. • Expert in stakeholder engagement at the employee, organization and community level. • Extensive national and international network in local government leadership; served on ICMA Executive Board. • Trained facilitator and leading development of MGT’s supervisory training program for local government. 3 Celebrating +50 Years of Service +30,000 Client Engagements +900 Staff Nationally-recognized. Locally-focused. MGT began as MGT of America in 1974 with the mission of helping professionals in the public sector improve services and the lives of people in their communities. Over the last decade, we have grown exponentially by attracting and retaining world-class talent and expanding our expertise to help clients solve the most critical challenges they face today. Human Resources Consulting Information Technology Financial Services Facilities Transformation Management Consulting • State and Local Government • Higher Education • PK12 Education • Non-Profits 4 Our Value Proposition Broad Perspective: • We have served clients in 44 states and communities of 1,000 to 3,000,000. True Partnership: • We keep our clients well-informed so that changes and new perspectives can be integrated at any point. Client Experience: • Our repeat clients total 40% and 94% of surveyed clients rate us as “Outstanding”. 5 Building the Profile 6 Building the Candidate Profile Research Discussions Surveys • Review data: • Current Operations • Strategic Plan • Study Trends/ Associations • Assess Similar/ Other Postings • Project Kick-off Meeting • Interviews with Leaders: • Commission • Community Partners • Municipalities/ Counties • On-line survey to: • Employees • Volunteers • Commission • Strategic Plan Working Group • Central Texas Animal Welfare Partners 7 Survey Responses GROUP (Self Selected) Employees Volunteers Animal Advisory Commission Strategic Plan Working Group Central Texas Animal Welfare Partners …
Reports and Updates Austin Animal Services | December 8, 2025 Monthly Reporting November 2025 Jason Garza, Assistant Director Animal Services November The live outcome rate for November was 92.54%. 407 animals were adopted 73 dogs and cats were returned to their owners November 1, 2025 1280 animals in the AAS inventory December 1, 2025 1077 animals in the AAS inventory 3 Animal Protection Field Data Field Return to Owner (RTO) Fencing Applications Impounded Injured Impounded Regular or Sick Rabies Specimens In-Field Owner Surrenders 18 5 20 70 42 0 Sent to Austin Wildlife Rescue 33 Positive Specimens 5 bats 6 decomposed bats 1 decomposed raccoon Exposure Reports 241 Activities Breakdown 17 wild sick 2 incidents 1 wild injured 21 sightings 1 encounter 2 wild speaks 1 observations 4 Wildlife Coyotes Coyote Related Activities 45 Volunteering Hours Overview Social Media Hours Per Activity M/L Dog Walking: 2,225.95 Small Dog Kennel Cleaning 358.20 Cat Kennel Cleaning 834.92 • 528 volunteers contributed 7,212.73 hours • 4 orientations, introducing 68 potential volunteers • 10 Community Service Restitution individuals to perform 96 hours • 110 volunteers dedicated 331.42 hours to volunteer development and onboarding training • 22 individuals donated 44 hours toward group service, through dog-walking and cat care Facebook • 610,000 page views • 180,000 unique individuals Instagram • 498,000 page views • 61,000 unique individuals • 13,000 content interactions • 17,000 content interactions 5 Foster and Rescue In November, 15 different rescue partners pulled a total of 174 animals from the Austin Animal Center. Highest numbers pulled by rescues were APA (88) and Austin Humane Society (60) 340 different people/families fostered. As of December 3, there are 278 animals in foster care. 28 animals were a part of the Finder to Foster program. More than 102 animals were adopted directly from foster care. 124 new foster applications were processed. There are currently 1237 approved foster care providers. 6 Vet Services All 381 spay/neuter surgeries that were performed in November took place at AAC. 1,805 vaccinations were administered. 46 domesticated animals were euthanized in November. 40 for severe injury, neurological, congenital, suffering, or acute trauma reasons. 2 for court ordered euthanasia, 4 for aggression/public safety risk. 74 animals were transferred for medical reasons to rescue partners. 67 of these animals went to APA!. 22 were puppies and 21 were kittens. …
November 2025 AUSTIN ANIMAL SERVICES REPORT 1 Austin Animal Services The live outcome rate for November was 92.54%. A total of 723 animals were brought to the shelter which included 321 cats and 356 dogs. A total of 407 animals were adopted. A total of 73 dogs and cats were returned to their owners (RTOs and RTO-Adopt). On November 1, there were 1280 animals within the ASO inventory. On December 1, there were 1077 animals within the ASO inventory. Animal Protection Animal Protection Officers (APOs) returned 18 animals to their owners in the field. Officers handed out 5 fencing assistance applications and implanted 6 microchip(s). Officers impounded 20 injured animals and 70 regular or sick animals. Officers delivered approximately 33 wildlife to Austin Wildlife Rescue. Officers submitted 42 specimens for rabies testing out of 241 exposure reports. We had 5 positive bats, 6 decomposed bats, and 1 decomposed raccoon. Wildlife Data does not include non-coyote wildlife. There were 45 total coyote related activities (Behavior types include Sighting, Encounter, Incident, and Observation. “Observation” is defined as hearing coyotes howling and finding scat or footprints.) o 21 sightings, 17 wild sick, 1 encounter, 2 incidents, 2 wild speaks, 1 observation, 1 wild injured Volunteer 528 volunteers contributed 7,212.73 hours 4 orientations, introducing 68 potential volunteers 10 Community Service Restitution individuals to perform 96 hours 110 volunteers dedicated 331.42 hours to volunteer development and onboarding training 22 individuals donated 44 hours toward group service, through dog-walking and cat care Foster & Rescue In November, 15 different rescue partners pulled a total of 174 domestic animals from the Austin Animal Center. 340 different people/families fostered. As of December 3, there are 278 animals in foster care. More than 102 animals were adopted directly from foster care. In the month of November, 28 animals were a part of the Finder to Foster Program. 124 new foster applications were processed. (This number does not necessarily include walk-in / in person applications that were processed.) There are currently 1237 members (approved foster care providers) in the foster program’s 2 GivePulse group. Vet Services 381 spay/neuter surgeries were performed at AAC. 1,805 vaccinations were administered. 46 domesticated animals were euthanized in November. o 40 for severe injury, neurological, congenital, suffering, or …
November 2025 Place Assignment Nov 2025 Hours Nov 2025 Volunteer Count Total Hours Total Volunteer Count Community Cats Community Cat At-Home Projects 4.00 1 4.00 1 Community Cat Colony Care 277.42 20 277.42 20 Community Cat Trapping 282.92 17 282.92 17 Community Cats Admin 1.75 2 1.75 2 Total 566.08 24 566.08 24 Place Assignment October 2025 Oct 2025 Hours Oct 2025 Volunteer Count Total Hours Total Volunteer Count Community Cats Community Cat At-Home Projects 0.00 0 0.00 0 Community Cat Colony Care 372.75 24 372.75 24 Community Cat Trapping 431.17 21 431.17 21 Community Cats Admin 13.00 3 13.00 3 Total 816.92 33 816.92 33
Outcome vs. Intake FY 26 Information is from October 1, 2025 – November 30, 2025 Intake Year (fiscal) Dog totals Cat totals Totals Outcome Year (fiscal) Dog totals Cat totals Totals Difference of outcomes - intakes Dog totals Cat totals Totals Cats - Outcomes Adoption RTO/RTO Adopt Transfer Euthanasia Died Missing SNR (former SCRP) Total Dog - Outcomes Adoption RTO/RTO Adopt Transfer Euthanasia Died Missing Total 2026 683 988 1671 2026 651 910 1561 2026 -32 -78 -110 2026 512 35 158 57 23 2 123 910 2026 322 130 166 25 7 1 651
