Cleveland Safety Committee Reviews Animal Control and Public Safety Administration – Oct. 28, 2026

The Cleveland City Council Safety Committee met on Oct. 28, 2026 (timestamped 17:06:39 UTC) to review operations and 2027 budget plans for the Division of Animal Care and Control and the Department of Public Safety Administration. No agenda or minutes were available; all material in this summary comes from the meeting transcript.

Animal Care and Control Operations

• Public Safety Assistant Director Chris Weiland, appearing for Director Drummond, introduced Animal Care and Control Manager Bruce Campbell and Chief Animal Control Officer Rachel Bryant. Staff were credited with managing 140 to 150 dogs daily, about 40 dogs in foster care at any time, and 254 volunteers donating more than 12,000 hours so far in 2026.
• Through the third quarter of 2026, the division reported an 80 percent live release rate, a 5 percent increase; 890 dogs reunited with owners; 677 dogs adopted; and 1,040 animals pulled by rescues, including farm animals. Adoptions rose 2.2 percent over the same period after a plateau.
• The division reported 675 spay/neuter surgeries, 30 heartworm treatments funded by Friends of City Dogs, which spent over $10,000, and five microchip/vaccine clinics with the APL providing free microchips and initial vaccines to the first 100 residents at each clinic.
• Enforcement statistics included 243 new cases, a 62 percent increase in violations cited and prosecuted, 569 citations, and seven felony animal neglect/abuse prosecutions.
• Staffing was reported as 32 full-time and 3 part-time employees in one presentation segment, then as 33 full-time in a later exchange; the division is budgeted for 38 full-time and 4 part-time positions in 2027. Openings include one animal control officer, three animal care workers, one chief clerk, one registered vet tech, and one part-time volunteer adoption coordinator. A councilmember stressed that all critical positions must be filled before next year.
• Workforce demographics were described as 68.5 percent female and 31 percent male, with racial demographics reported as 74.28 percent white, 17.14 percent Black, and 8.5 percent Hispanic; the Black share was said to have nearly doubled from 9 percent in 2025.
• The kennel capacity is about 155 dogs and is at or near capacity. A councilmember estimated about 90 percent of the dogs were pit bulldogs and called for stronger action against backyard breeders.
• A councilmember cited prior live release rates of about 90 percent pre-pandemic, 70 percent at the post-pandemic low, and 75 percent last year; staff said they could not confirm the pre-pandemic figure and argued open-intake urban shelters should not be judged on that metric because they cannot refuse animals.
• The fleet consists of eight vehicles, with five on the road and three in repair; the city took delivery of a 2024 Ford Transit van and decommissioned a 2016 vehicle this year.
• Staff said a package of animal legislation is being finalized with the Law Department and could come to council in January, covering dog limits, outdoor kenneling, breeding permits, some breed prohibitions, and neglect standards.

Nuisance Wildlife Program

• The city's previous in-house wildlife removal program was described as a misallocation of animal control officers, a legal liability for unmonitored traps, and scientifically counterproductive. Staff argued that removing healthy wildlife creates a vacuum effect, drawing in more animals, and that urban wildlife should be managed through education, deterrence, and cohabitation.
• After an RFP process, Freeman was the only bidder and was awarded the pilot contract. Freeman had serviced nearly 700 properties in 2026, removed 1,566 animals, including 707 groundhogs, and completed single-point repairs at 142 homes through Oct. 16. The 2026 contract cost $212,000; the 2027 proposal was $384,000 without repairs or $418,000 with repairs at the same pace.
• The $65 complaint was explained as Freeman's private-side charge for residents who did not qualify for the program or did not want to wait for a scheduled zone, roughly half the typical market rate; Freeman also provided one free removal to help residents transition.
• Program eligibility rules excluding gardens, wildlife feeding, unsecured trash, and properties adjacent to wooded areas were longstanding; staff said garden critter-proofing could be added in 2027.
• The chair described a constituent experience in which a resident with a garden and flowers was denied a trap, bought his own trap, and was told healthy wildlife would not be picked up. The chair said the program cannot simply be eliminated because councilmembers would face intense public pressure, but acknowledged staff's statement that the present approach is not working.
• Councilmembers directed staff to develop a cohabitation and education campaign, with one councilmember offering $10,000 to $20,000 for materials, and another requesting quantified alternatives for the budget. Staff said the 2027 pilot funding request would move forward in parallel with such a campaign.
• A councilmember noted that Cleveland Metro Parks wildlife ecologist John Seepek will be invited to present to council and the Urban Forestry Commission on urban wildlife, and that the Office of Sustainability is helping plan the presentation.
• The current nuisance wildlife trapping season was scheduled to end 'this Saturday' relative to the Oct. 28 meeting date.

Public Safety Administration and DOJ Budget

• The Department of Public Safety Administration provides oversight, policy, fiscal, technology, emergency management, internal affairs, and legislative support for police, fire, EMS, animal control, and corrections. The DOJ budget lines were created in 2015 for federal consent decree monitoring and are police budget lines, not a separate staff unit.
• Staffing in Public Safety Administration is 36 of 39 authorized positions; two offers were out and the third vacancy was expected to be filled by year-end. The 2027 budget will fund 39 positions. Staffing demographics were reported as 50/50 by gender and race.
• The Drone First Responder pilot, operating with one drone hive, has flown more than 300 flights since June 2026 and assisted with locating an overturned kayaker, identifying multiple freeway crash sites, and finding a transformer fire using thermal imaging.
• The city replaced the Code Red mass notification system, worked with Risk Management on attenuator and blocker trucks, and transitioned the ambassador program to a fire and EMS Explorers program with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to create a hiring pipeline.
• The monitoring team's disciplinary assessment found that police and public safety disciplinary processes are meeting compliance goals.
• Under the nuisance abatement ordinance, the city reviews about 238 properties per month. Current data included 47 nuisance properties citywide, 175 violations, 32 abatement plans since May, 16 properties declared nuisances since May, 20 properties with more than three violations, 41 closed properties, 35 LLC-owned properties, and 12 properties with liquor licenses. Fines escalate from $500 to $750 to $1,000 and are attached to property tax bills; $100-per-day fines apply for failure to submit an abatement plan.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were recorded in the transcript; the committee adjourned after directing several follow-ups.
• City staff will provide the committee with nuisance abatement data, promotional material for Friends of City Dogs, and information on filling animal control vacancies.
• The chair said a wildlife proposal must be ready by Feb. 1, 2027, with council discussion between Feb. 1 and Apr. 1; one councilmember offered seed money for an education campaign.
• The safety committee expects the animal control legislation package in January and asked for a drone demonstration plus tours of the five renovated police districts once the Leopardo refresh is complete.
• Public Safety Administration will continue pursuing its three hires and will support the 2027 budget request for the wildlife pilot and a parallel education campaign.