"AWL needs more support from the county" : Charlotte County commissioner speaks out on Animal Welfare League contract

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (WINK)—A Charlotte County commissioner is speaking out for the first time about contract negotiations with the Animal Welfare League.

The Animal Welfare League sent the county a notice earlier this year saying they'd end their decade-long contract if the county can't give them the funds the shelter needs to stay afloat. 

The only no-kill, open-admission shelter in the county says they currently operate on roughly $300,000 a year from the county. However, with inflation, a rise in intake and upkeep of the building, AWL will need $1.3 million a year to be able to fully operate at the rate they are now.

The county has only offered around $500,000 per year for funding. This week, District 4 Commissioner Stephen R. Deutsch released a statement saying in part, "There is no question that the AWL needs more support from the County, and they've needed it for a long while."

"I agree with them," Deutsch said. "I've been making that case directly to our County Administration negotiating team, and I'm going to keep making it."

Executive Director Tara Zajas says the doors to the Animal Welfare League will not close, but the opportunity for all animals brought in to have a roof over their heads is slim. "The animals that are here will still remain here," Zajas said. "The animals that the county brings us, I don't know where they'll go. That's a question you're going to have to ask your county commissioners, because I, they won't come here. Sadly, I don't know what the answer is for them."

The shelter's next discussion with the county is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16 for a county workshop.