Crestview Animal Services, operated by the Animal Services Division of the Crestview Police Department, will operate according to the Okaloosa County Animal Control “Light” Model, meaning it will only fulfill statutory responsibilities as required by state law.
It will handle sheltering, dangerous dog and bite cases, animal cruelty and neglect, quality-of-life-related ordinance violations and livestock disease reporting. It will not respond to nonemergency stray pickups or accept surrenders for the time being.
It is the result of an interlocal agreement approved by the County Commission and the Crestview City Council in August to split the costs of animal control in the unincorporated areas of north Okaloosa County.
The contract stipulates that the county will pay half the service cost of Crestview’s Animal Control operations both within the city and in the unincorporated areas north of Eglin AFB, half the cost of additional personnel necessary to cover the broadened service area and up to 65 percent of a new animal shelter in Crestview.
With the county’s contract with the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) ending Sept. 22, the county wanted to bring services in-house to provide the statutory services required by state law.
“This initiative will bring animal control services in-house so that we can better serve the residents of Okaloosa County with ongoing animal control issues,” said Okaloosa County Board Chairman Trey Goodwin. “We are very fortunate to have partnered with the City of Crestview and local businesses to streamline the process between animal control and sheltering to keep costs down.”
According to the contract, Okaloosa County would contribute an estimated $300,000 to $450,000 annually, as well as a one-time surtax-funded contribution between $485,000 and $812,500.
The agreement was amended at the County Commission meeting on Sept. 15, delegating the county’s authority over animal control north of Eglin AFB to the City of Crestview and also adopting the city’s laws, policies and standards concerning animal control.
