Okaloosa County will start its own animal control operation this fall after commissioners voted unanimously June 16 to approve a scaled-back service model, ending more than 20 years of contracted service through the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society.

• The county’s contract with PAWS expires Sept. 22 with no extensions. The PAWS board voted May 1 not to renew the agreement and submitted a sheltering-only proposal that exceeded the entire current contract, according to Kira East, the organization’s director of operations.

The approved plan, recommended by Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox, will stand up a small county-run unit responding only to calls required by Florida statute and county ordinance. Those include dangerous dog and bite cases, animal cruelty and neglect, livestock at large, disease reporting, and contracting with outside agencies for sheltering, sterilization and humane euthanasia.

The county will not handle non-emergency stray pickups or owner surrenders under this model. A staff document states those services “will be performed by local sanctuaries and refuges from their individual funding sources.”

The county paid $815,000 to PAWS this fiscal year and has budgeted $950,000 for the next fiscal year. Staff estimated the light model will cost about $710,000 annually, with capital startup costs of approximately $500,000 that staff plans to pursue through surtax funding. Initial staffing calls for five full-time animal control officers, two relief officers and support staff.

Maddox told commissioners the change is about service delivery, not the current vendor.

• “It’s not an indictment of the actual vendor, an indictment of the service model itself,” Maddox said. He said direct county management would allow more oversight than the contract-based arrangement.

Maddox said the county currently sends more than 200 animals per month to PAWS. Under the light model, that number would drop to between 15 and 25, limited to animals taken in through required enforcement actions.

Commissioner Paul Mixon added a provision to the motion directing staff to explore whether the City of Crestview could handle calls in the north end of the county under a similar light model. Crestview brought its animal control in-house after ending its own contract with PAWS.

Commissioners rejected two other options presented by staff. Option 2, a full-service “animal control heavy” model with 13 employees and an estimated $3.2 million all-in cost including land and a building, was described by Maddox as a long-term goal but not currently sustainable given pending state tax legislation. Option 3 would have deferred animal control to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office by default under Florida Statute 767.11, which Maddox did not recommend.

Commissioner Drew Palmer asked Maddox whether the program could scale up if county finances improve.

• “It depends on the level of program you want, sir,” Maddox said. “Depending on the options that you chose, it would be how many more vehicles do we have to acquire? How many more people do we have to hire? That process takes time, but as soon as we would get that information, I would bring it back to you.”

Commissioners also unanimously approved a separate motion directing staff to research a potential half-cent sales tax referendum that could fund a more robust animal control program. Chairman Trey Goodwin, who proposed the idea, said voters could decide directly how much service they want to pay for. Staff is expected to return with options during the first quarter of 2027, in time for the 2028 ballot.

Three representatives from local animal welfare organizations spoke during public comment.

Jen Hagedorn, executive director of Saving With Soul Pet Rescue in Baker, told commissioners that local rescues do not have capacity to absorb non-emergency strays and owner surrenders. She said her organization already takes 10 to 25 calls per day for assistance and must turn most away.

“Saving With Soul is a rescue organization, we are not animal control,” Hagedorn said. “We are not trained or equipped to provide animal control services and we’re not in a position to take on those responsibilities on behalf of the county.”

East said PAWS had warned for years that its contract was underfunded and presented multiple alternatives that were rejected. She noted the county’s own staff analysis acknowledged true full-service costs of $2.3 million to $3.2 million annually.

• “This very proposal being used to replace PAWS is also proof that PAWS was right about what this service actually costs,” East said.

Lorraine Whetstone, development director for Save Our Cats and Kittens, urged commissioners to update county ordinances to allow trap-neuter-return programs for community cats. She said outdated ordinance language disqualifies local groups from grants, and estimated 36,000 community cats live in Okaloosa County based on a Florida Animal Friend calculation.

Hagedorn returned to the podium after the vote with four questions she asked commissioners to address before the September transition: what will happen to the roughly 175 animals per month no longer accepted, who the county’s “strategic partners” will be, what residents who find stray animals should be told to do, and how large hoarding or neglect confiscation cases will be handled.

Maddox said staff has not yet engaged outside partners on specifics because the board needed to choose a direction first. He said those conversations will begin now that Option 1 has been approved.