Baldwin approves animal control agreement despite concerns

BALDWIN, Ga. — The Baldwin City Council approved a new agreement with Habersham County for animal control services Tuesday night, despite concerns about future costs and whether the county will adequately serve residents on the Banks County side of the city.

The agreement continues Baldwin’s use of Habersham County Animal Care and Control but removes a previous 3% cap on annual cost increases.

City Manager Tiera Morrison said county officials were unwilling to negotiate changes to the financial terms of the agreement.

No cap on future increases

Morrison said Habersham County previously capped annual increases to municipal animal control fees at 3%. The county also began providing a tax credit in 2024 intended to prevent residents from effectively paying twice for animal control services through city and county taxes.

County officials believe those measures are sufficient and are not willing to add a cap to the current agreement, Morrison said.

“So we have to make a decision on the current IGA that we have in front of us as is,” she told the council.

Mayor Doug Faust said the current cost is similar to what Baldwin expects to pay under the new agreement, but the concern is the absence of a limit on future increases.

Morrison said county officials indicated they were not attempting to substantially increase the city’s costs.

“He did say that they’re going to try their best to keep it around that number,” Morrison said. “But they’re not going to try to shoot it up significantly.”

The agreement can be terminated by either party with 60 days’ notice and renews annually.

City Attorney Sammy Tomasello said Baldwin would have to provide its own animal control services if it terminated the agreement.

“Once we terminate that service and those 60 days are up, then we’re managing our own animal control,” Tomasello said.

Faust said the approximately $20,000 annual cost would make it difficult for Baldwin to independently replicate the services provided by the county.

The city does not have a facility to house animals or provide other services necessary for animal control operations, he said.

“I think the question is: Is this a good enough alternative today in order for us to have to buy time to explore other options?” Faust said.

Questions about Banks County residents

Much of the council’s discussion centered on service for Baldwin residents who live on the Banks County side of the city.

Councilman Joe Elam said he wanted assurance that those residents would receive the same services despite Habersham County Animal Control operating from another county.

Police Chief Chris Jones said animal control officers have responded to calls involving Banks County residents in the past.

Jones described a recent incident involving a vicious animal in which a Baldwin police officer was dispatched after hours. Habersham County Animal Control later became involved, and the animal’s owner surrendered it for euthanasia and immediate rabies testing.

Jones said the more complicated issue involves citations issued to Banks County residents.

Under the agreement, Habersham County animal control officers can enforce Baldwin’s animal control ordinance within the city’s corporate limits. However, citations involving Banks County residents have raised questions about which court has jurisdiction.

Jones said the city may need to adopt an ordinance allowing those cases to be handled in Baldwin Municipal Court.

Tomasello said the agreement itself authorizes Habersham County Animal Control to enforce Baldwin’s ordinances throughout the city.

“It doesn’t say only on the Habersham side,” Tomasello said.

Councilman Mike Tope said he had personally contacted county officials after a recent animal control incident and was initially told the location was in Banks County.

That response concerned him, he said.

“I hear this is covering that, but we need to make sure,” Tope said.

Elam said his primary concern was whether the agreement required Habersham County Animal Control to respond to calls throughout Baldwin.

“I just wanted to make sure this holds them to do that,” he said.

Following the meeting, Elam told Now Georgia that approximately one-third of Baldwin residents live in Banks County.

“The city does have a third of our citizens that are in the county of Banks, and this $19,000 is going to be equally distributed amongst our Habersham and Banks County citizens,” Elam said. “I wanted to be assured that we would be actually providing services to those in the Banks County side, since we are going to tax them for that service.”

Council wants accountability

While Morrison recommended approving the agreement and evaluating its performance over time, Tope said the city should establish a formal method for monitoring whether the county is meeting its obligations.

Morrison said Baldwin could terminate the agreement if the service does not meet the city’s needs.

“If we find that it’s not working for us, similar to what the mayor said, we can look and see about other options,” she said.

Tope said waiting until the end of the year to determine whether the service was effective would be too late.

“How are we going to audit it?” he asked.

Tope suggested the city establish measurable performance standards or regularly review service data.

“We need to set up a structured audit, whether it’s quarterly, monthly. I don’t know what it is,” he said. “But we can’t go at the end of the year and get mad again.”

He noted that the 60-day termination provision could mean several additional months before Baldwin could transition to another provider if problems develop.

“I don’t want to get down the road of half a year and then say, ‘Oh, this isn’t really working,'” Tope said.

The council ultimately approved the animal control intergovernmental agreement.