San Diego Humane Society officials say last-minute financial concessions from the city of San Diego mean the nonprofit won’t have to follow through on repeated threats to stop providing the city’s animal control services.

But the Humane Society says the city’s decision to pay $1.5 million less than required by its 10-year contract means that some services, such as leash-law enforcement, still must be reduced or eliminated.

While there will be some changes to the services the Humane Society provides to the city — and the nonprofit might also increase fees it charges the public — those moves are far different than the nonprofit’s threats this spring to completely end all service.

“If we are put in a position to choose between helping the city with their budget deficit or ensuring we can be there for the animals in the future, our duty is to the animals,” Humane Society official Juliana Tetlow said in May.

On Tuesday, the nonprofit struck a different tone, thanks to $2.1 million of Humane Society funding the City Council added to the final budget this month. That money came after Mayor Todd Gloria had already restored another $2 million in May.

“San Diego Humane Society is relieved and profoundly grateful that the San Diego City Council has adopted a final budget that maintains enough necessary funding for us to continue safeguarding animals and serving the community,” the nonprofit said in a prepared statement.

While the city could bring animal control services in-house for about the same cost it pays the Humane Society, doing so would require millions in up-front expenses and take several months.

But Tetlow indicated that if the nonprofit chose to stop service it would do so immediately, and provide the city no grace period.

That possibility prompted Councilmember Kent Lee, perhaps the nonprofit’s strongest advocate on the council, to say last month that he couldn’t believe the dispute had gotten so rancorous and risky.

“It just blows my mind,” said Lee, referring to the possibility of the contract being severed. “Are we looking to possibly end those services? And what would the alternative be if we do?”

In its statement Tuesday, the nonprofit singled Lee out for his support.

“We are especially grateful to Council President Pro Tem Lee for his leadership and unwavering support in advocating for the city to honor its agreement with San Diego Humane Society,” the statement said.

But the nonprofit also thanked Gloria and the rest of the council, which were desperate to make budget cuts anywhere they could because of a roughly $350 million deficit in the city’s $2.2 billion annual budget.

The nonprofit also said it plans to continue meeting with city officials “in the coming weeks” to identify and finalize service-level cuts required by the $1.5 million reduction in the city’s payment.

In April, Humane Society chief executive Gary Weitzman suggested cuts could include suspending park patrols, halting spay-neuter vouchers funded by the city and some fee adjustments.

But many fees were increased as recently as 2023, including adoption fees for adults dogs, which went from $100 to $150, and dog licenses for a spayed or neutered adult dog, which went from $18 to $20.

Characterizing how much was cut from the Humane Society’s annual compensation from the city is complicated.

Gloria proposed a $3.5 million cut in his preliminary April budget and shrank that to $1.5 million in his May revise budget.

But the city’s independent budget analyst, Charles Modica, explained in May that Gloria had failed to account for $2.1 million in required increases to Humane Society compensation because of inflation-adjusted hikes in the city’s living wage and minimum wage.

Unrelated to the unresolved squabble over the proposed $1.5 million cut, Modica recommended the council add $2.1 million into the budget it adopted June 10 to account for those wage hikes.

“Irrespective of the outcome of negotiations with SDHS, the budget for this non-discretionary contractual expense will likely be short by at least $2.1 million, and thus we recommend this increase,” Modica said.

The council agreed to add the $2.1 million, and a series of line-item vetoes issued by Gloria last week didn’t address that money. So it remained in the final budget approved Monday.

But the $1.5 million cut in Humane Society funding proposed by Gloria in May — down from $3.5 million he proposed in April — was never reversed.

The IBA indicates the city’s compensation to the Humane Society will be $16.7 million, $1.5 million less than the $18.2 million it should receive under its contract.

Humane Society officials said they are optimistic this spring’s crisis-style negotiations won’t happen again next spring.

“We have commitment from staff to realign the budget in the coming year to get us back on track with full compensation due under our agreement in FY 2027,” the nonprofit said in its statement.

The Humane Society handles animal control services for 13 of the county’s 18 cities — all but Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, Lemon Grove and Coronado.

Originally Published: June 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM PDT