April 1, 2007

The "Operational Review of Systems and Practices for Placer County Animal Services" prepared by Dr. Dena Mangiamele, concluded with a released "summary" Final Report .

Citizens questioned county officials on the validity of the contents of the report we were given when it became obvious that significant facts were omitted. It took seventeen months to discover that there are additional documents to the report we were given by management. It took numerous informal requests and two requests under the Public Information Act to find the hidden reports and receive copies. These reports support on-going claims that the department is improperly managed - to this very day.

LINKS TO THE MISSING REPORTS:

May 23,-24, 2005

May 31-June1, 2005

June 13-14, 2005

May 31, 2005 Rescue Groups

Flagrant violations of the law and unsafe practices uncovered in these hidden reports from 2005 are to this day in place at Animal Services. The inept level of leadership supported by tax dollars is (for lack of a better word) unimaginable in every office that we've dealt with. We spent 2005 and 2006 addressing these concerns with the Board of Supervisors and County Executive Officer, Tom Miller. Their response has been an attempt to discredit our understanding for public safety and animal welfare. Yet the Supervisors rely on staff with absolutely NO knowledge of animal programs to drive their decision relative to building a $20 million dollar complex of animal facilities believing it will solve their problems. After spending $20 million we'll still be left with a dilapidated Tahoe Shelter. Their lack of concern for the enormous and unsafe issues surrounding the department suggests to us that the Department of Animal Services, its employees and programs are regarded with disdain by most of the county officials and especially by the County Executive Officer.

Rank-and-file employees have been asked to increase their job responsibilities without sufficient compensation while wage increase packages glide through the approval process for managers that feel the need to cover-up and bury the results of a consultant's review. The number of field staff officers has remained at pre-2000 levels while the population growth throughout the county has soared. In fact, according to the Grand Jury report the department has one less field officer today than in 2000.

The Animal Advisory Committee has been dubbed the Animal "Appeasement" Committee chaired by a County Executive Officer who has proven to have little regard for citizens, employees or city leaders. His response to a managed colony of feral cats at the Government Center was to kill each and every one he could find. We shutter to think this unconscionable man is now our County Executive Officer.

The hardworking employees in the shelter kennels have been working out of class since 1998 yet HHS management refuses to address their job descriptions or pay. An attempt to discuss this at the mock Advisory Committee is met with extreme resistance as is all other matters that anyone attempts to address.

The current administration has neglected proper training for field officers and given employees inadequate equipment causing dangerous situations for these individuals and citizens of Placer County - not to mention conducting study after study at taxpayer's expense without results.

Critical programs that require priority are not given the attention or promotion necessary to be effective.

The Placer County Board of Supervisors owns this debacle and it's time they become accountable to their constitutents. Supervisor took "umbridge" to an ad about their lack of prosecution of abused animals that we ran in the local newspapers. Hopefully he (and the other Sups) will take ACTION against these blantant acts of corruption.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) consultant report of 1999 identifies substantial issues that remain unresolved such as:

• New shelter
• Deteriorating shelter facilities
• Lack of community based programs
• Poor relations with pet placement partners

Subsequent Grand Jury reports identify the same items as outlined in the HSUS report, and yet, years later the substandard conditions and services still exist.
See Grand Jury Reports:
2000-2001 Complaint on Placer County Animal Services
2000-2001 Response.pdf
2001-2002 Follow-up PC Animal Shelter.pdf
2001-2002 Response.pdf

Dr. Dena Mangiamele was contracted by Health & Human Services to conduct the THIRD and most recent review. Despite Dr. Dena's laundry list of critics and rescue groups who challenged her past performance as director of Animal Control of San Diego, and her dubious title of "Dr. Death", Health and Human Services felt she was somehow qualified to write this report!! We will go so far as to suggest HHS administration felt they could manipulate Dr. Dena and the outcome of her report. Here you will find Dr. Dena's review.
We believe her review contains gross omissions and errors. We have taken excerpts from her review and added our comments in bold, you can read our version here.

The flagrant neglect of key elements in this newest "study" demonstrates, once again, that taxpayers have been gouged. We dare say that this most recent report was controlled and contrived by the administration of Health and Human Services to meet their personal agenda, it was a waste of more taxpayer's money and we'll not hold back by adding, an opportunity for Dr. Dena to open the county coffers to additional contracts with her firm if she played along.

Placer County Board of Supervisors MUST act on behalf of Placer County residents and clean house. An eight-year history of mismanagement at Health and Health & Human Services has the Animal Services Department in a state of continual decline - a department that has seen seven (7) managers during the last eight (8) years of dysfunction. The result has been a decline in staff morale, manifesting itself in cynicism, poor customer service, poor attendance, high attrition levels, lack of motivation, reluctance to accept responsibility/accountability and lack of creativity.