Council demands revival of pet neuter program

By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/28/2009 12:00:00 AM PDT

An angry Los Angeles City Council on Friday ordered the Department of Animal Services to reinstitute two popular spay-neuter voucher programs as two council members called for a vote of no-confidence in department head Ed Boks and urged Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to replace him.

A stoic Boks took the criticism and acknowledged his mistakes, but said he would not step down from the job that pays him $181,000 a year.

"I'm sticking it out," Boks said after the nearly hourlong tongue-lashing by council members who brought up not only the most recent controversy, but past decisions by Boks.
Councilman Richard Alarcón, who introduced the no-confidence motion that was deferred to a future meeting, said he was frustrated with the constant problems with the department.
"It's one thing after another with this department," Alarcón said.

"First, it was Hooters for Neuters" - an ill-fated promotion with the restaurant chain.
"Then a Pit Bull Academy and now this. When are we going to see some improvement?"
An angry Councilman Dennis Zine brought out a box full of e-mail complaints involving Boks and fired a series of questions, some rhetorical, while refusing to allow him to consult with an aide.
"You're the general manager, you should know the answers," Zine said. "I will be honest with you: I have no confidence in your ability to run this department. It has been one thing after another with you."

Boks said he recognized he has made errors, but that he has tried to correct them as they emerged.

The most recent involved the decision to suspend two popular voucher programs, valued at $30 and $70 each, on March 10 when he realized the department would not be able to pay for all the vouchers that were being used.

"When we realized the vouchers being redeemed exceeded our projections, we knew we we had to take steps," Boks said.

Also, he said, the department wanted better controls on voucher distribution.
The $70 vouchers are given to the elderly and poor to offset the costs of spay or neutering of their pets. The $30 voucher is available to anyone.

Councilman Tony Cardenas said it seemed shortsighted to suspend the program - particularly at this time of year when animals are breeding.

"Now is when the animals are going at it," Cardenas said. "These vouchers are for the human owners of the pets to take responsibility. I've never seen a dog or cat walk into a clinic on their own and say, `Cut me up."'

Boks acknowledged the decision seemed counter to the city's policy to encourage spay and neutering as a means of reducing unwanted animals and lowering the euthanasia rate.
Villaraigosa's office would not comment on the council dispute or Boks' future, but spokesman Matt Szabo would only say:

"The mayor supports the efforts to reinstate the spay and neuter voucher program, and looks forward to working with the council and public to make Los Angeles Animal Services the best animal services department in the country."

The demand for vouchers has increased since the city adopted new licensing laws that imposed a $100 fee for all unaltered pets over age 6 months.

Boks said part of the problem has been the need to make cuts in his $19 million budget because of the financial crisis facing the city.

"It was a choice of cutting this or eliminating employees, something I was told I could not do," Boks said.
However, several council members said they felt Boks eliminated the popular voucher pr ogram to embarrass public officials.

Zine and Cardenas also said they felt Boks had purposely made the decision on his own rather than consulting with the Animal Services Commission or the Advisory Committee on Spay and Neuter.