Staffing increased at animal shelter

SPANISH FORK — It didn't take long for former shelter director Mike Morgan to identify the source of recent problems at the South Utah Valley Animal Shelter.

The staff is too small and has not been sufficiently trained, Morgan says.

Special service district board members who oversee operations at the shelter agree, and they're making changes to address those needs.

The shelter's budget for fiscal year 2006-07 approved Thursday includes $47,600 to increase staffing. That funding boost allows for a second full-time animal technician and a fourth part-time attendant, and increases all part-time employees' hours from 20 to 25.

"(Director Shirley Bybee) feels like this would give her the staffing she needs," said John Borget, Provo's representative on the South Utah Valley Animal Services Special Service District board.

Bybee and her staff have come under fire over employee errors that have resulted in animals being mistakenly euthanized on three occasions in the past five months.

The most recent incident occurred June 12, when a dog being held for owners who were out of town erroneously was euthanized.

An April case of mistaken euthanasia led to an investigation by the Orem Department of Public Safety. Bybee and her staff were cleared of wrongdoing in that case and allowed to keep their jobs, but the board acknowledged the need for improved staff training.

That's where Morgan fits in. The longtime shelter director is about a week into his six-week return to the shelter to assist Bybee in training employees and finding ways to improve procedures at the shelter.

The board's decision to increase staffing will help that cause, Morgan said.

"I think an increase in staffing level would decrease some of the problems we've been having," he said.

John Paul Fox, chief investigator for the Humane Society of Utah, visited the South Utah Valley shelter this week and said he agrees with Morgan's assessment.

At bare minimum, Fox said, a shelter the size of the Spanish Fork facility needs the equivalent of four full-time employees in addition to the director to operate effectively.

Bybee's current staff includes one full-time staffer, three part-time employees and a part-time licensing specialist.

"I don't think they have enough people right now," Fox said. "The fewer people you have, the tougher it is to do that job right."

Critics of Bybee say increased staffing is a step in the right direction but not the answer.