This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

BASS Seeks Back Pay, Urges Council to Consider Continuing Commitment

Animal shelter president and several volunteers asked the mayor and council to repay money spent.

Days after successfully completing a transport where dozens of cats and dogs were brought through Bloomingdale from Kentucky to animal shelters throughout the northeast, Bloomingdale Regional Animal Shelter Society (BASS) President Ellen Ribitzki stood before the urging them to provide about $30,000 in back pay that the has spent to keep the animal shelter operational over the past year.

The borough has just gone out to bid a second time for animal shelter services after altering its original specifications in July. After BASS asked the borough to renew its contract, which Ribitzki said expired six years ago, the amount of money BASS asked of the borough was high enough that the borough was forced to go out to bid for shelter services. According to Ribitzki, it costs BASS over $200,000 to operate the shelter.

The borough rejected the single original bid last month after Borough Attorney Mark Semeraro called the bid "defective" because some terminology was left out of the bid specifications. Ribitzki said BASS did not bid in the first round because some of the wording was not acceptable by BASS' bylaws as it is a private entity. This included allowing Borough Administrator Ted Ehrenburg to make some decisions regarding the shelter.

Find out what's happening in Tri-Borowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During Tuesday's council meeting, Councilman Glenn Schiffman asked Ribitzki if BASS was planning on bidding during the second round. Ribitzki said she was unsure, as BASS is debating seeking legal advice and if they can afford to do so, but that if BASS was not awarded the bid, she thinks it is only fair that BASS be repaid for the additions and improvements they made to the animal shelter building.

“We did all these improvements, outside area, buildings, built this all up and now it’s out to bid,”  she said Sunday.

Find out what's happening in Tri-Borowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Tuesday she added, "If the next person gets the benefit of all our additions, they [should] buy them when they bid."

Ribitzki also told the council that by going out to bid, the borough is risking attracting a shelter that has higher kill rates than BASS. Ribitzki said BASS operates under an 11 percent kill rate whereas shelters that operate under high kill rates represent an 80 percent kill rate or higher. By maintaining a low kill rate, Ribitzki said BASS holds on to and cares for more animals, making it more costly to operate the shelter.

Ribitzki said the amount of around $20,000 for animal shelter services that the bidder presented to the council in the first round was unreasonable because it did not take into account salaries, insurance costs and other expenses. While a bid from the second round is expected to be awarded by the council on Sept. 7, Ribitzki told the council she is not sure that BASS has enough funding to survive until then.

“As of Sept. 30, we’re out of money. We run on total donations, which are down with the economy," Ribitzki said.

Bloomingdale also has shared services agreements with Butler, North Caldwell, Pompton Lakes, Riverdale, Wanaque and Ringwood to provide services to the abandoned or stray animals of the towns. Because BASS has taken on the additional towns as a result of the borough's shared services agreements, Ribitzki said she thinks it is fair that BASS is repaid for the money that was spent to care for the additional animals.

"The catch-phrase, 'You have to have shared services,' sounds good until you get down to the nitty gritty with these people," Councilwoman Linda Shortman said. But Shortman said that while she understands the financial situation BASS is in, the council also has to be responsible to the borough's taxpayers.

Council President Linda Huntley said the council would have to privately discuss whether the borough is able to pay some money back to BASS, but that it was a separate conversation from the bidding on shelter services. Huntley also said she has been looking into whether the borough could reimburse BASS approximately $15,000 for utilities and that the money would likely come out of the animal control budget line if the council decided to do so.

During Saturday's transport, Ribitzki said BASS needs the support of the borough to continue doing what they do. "We want to present that we can no longer survive," she said.

Cars and vans filled with dogs and cats lined Bloomingdale's Animal Shelter on Saturday afternoon.

“Consider us a doggie underground railroad,” said Ribitki. "Every weekend we have two or three transports coming through.”

Ribitzki said shelters in the south euthanize the animals, instead of placing them in homes, so shelter managers arrange for the transports so that the animals can be brought to shelters and later adopted.

“We pull out of high-kill shelters in the south — Kentucky and West Virginia," she said. "The animals that don’t get rescued will be euthanized. Every animal that we can get out of the midwest and into the northeast has a good chance of being saved.”

“Some of these shelters have 24 hours to get here. They know if they don’t get them up here, these animals will get put down," Ribitzki added.

Bob Yost, from Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS) and Kathleen Lordson from Blairstown were among the drivers that pulled in to BASS in vehicles loaded with puppies and kittens. 

Yost praised BASS for the role it plays in the transport.

"They are a vital connection," he said. "These folks will hold dogs for us. If they can’t handle it, they have enough connections that they can arrange it. Some of these dogs are going up to Stanford, CT, and then to East Hartford. We have, in some instances, had linkage to Maine."

Marge Kerber, an independent volunteer coordinator, said the transport involves a lineup of people who work together on a moment's notice to relay the animals to the north.

“An email goes out, and we all take a leg," she said.

Kerber said it requires dedication, because drivers deal with noise, smells and keeping the temperature comfortable for the animals. “There’s a lot we must be careful of– viruses, handling.” 

Transports and adoptions like these help BASS survive, Ribitzki said.

“Our adoptions help us financially, and it’s the right thing to do, and a great way for us to network with these shelter rescue groups. Not every shelter is like this," she said.

The BASS facility, located on Brandt Lane, includes:

  • A small meet-and-greet yard. Money was raised, fence was donated, and grounds were cleared through an Eagle Scout project.
  • Indoor-outdoor exercise yard and pool for doggie play groups and training
  • Ten-day quarantine area for all cats upon arrival, because if they come in with something, they can spread it. 
  • Separate quarters for large and small dogs, cats. 
  • Laundry room. Cleaning and laundry is done by volunteers. 
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?