Indianapolis Animal Care Services Board Meeting - May 18, 2026
Indianapolis Animal Care Services Board Meeting - May 18, 2026
The Board of Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) convened on May 18, 2026, at 8:35 AM. Board members present were Director Amanda Dehoney-Hinkle, Mayoral Appointee Chris Roberson, and Mayoral Appointee Brett Kruger (noted as Brett Miles in transcript). Secretary Angela Finch and board counsel Ben Markle also attended. The meeting covered approval of three resolutions, presentation of April 2026 shelter statistics, and updates on facility operations and staffing.
Discussion Items
Resolution #03-26 – Management Services Contract – James Finlayson, Chief Financial Officer, presented a 10-year management contract with the Indianapolis Marion County Building Authority to manage the new shelter. The contract has no not-to-exceed limit; rent is paid annually. A minor typo was noted and will be corrected. The board approved the resolution unanimously.
Resolution #04-26 – Licensed Veterinary Services Contract – This contract, valued at $100,000, is for Dr. Grimes, a veterinarian who previously worked at the shelter. She will be paid an hourly rate (either $100 or $125 per hour) and is expected to work approximately once a week to once every two weeks. The contract uses a standard template. The board approved unanimously after noting a typo (incorrect adoption date of March 23).
Resolution #05-26 – Vehicle Purchase – The board approved capital purchase of two Chevy Trax vehicles from Kelley Automotive Group for $45,360 total. These will replace older non-animal-control vehicles and serve as supervisor vehicles for occasional animal transport. The purchase was the least expensive option from a public safety vehicle bid. Approved unanimously.
Shelter Statistics – April 2026 – Director Dehoney-Hinkle reported:
- Total intake: 874 (dogs 494, cats 294, other 86)
- Total outcomes: 883 (adopted 328, returned to owner 105, transferred to rescue 347, return to field 15, return to wild 1, other including euthanasia)
- Live release rate: 92.16% (the shelter maintains this above the national 90% no-kill threshold, though IACS does not use that terminology)
- New shelter at 108% capacity due to 29 incomplete kennels (some repaired on Friday) and high intake; first day open took in 38 animals
- ACO statistics: 268 reports, 94 bites reported, 194 summons/citations, 70 investigation impounds, 2,154 service calls
- Vacancy rate: 16% (missing rescue and foster coordinators; interviews pending; veterinarian recruitment ongoing)
- Volunteer hours: total 1,563 (shelter 1,294, special events 110, external service groups 100, doggy day out 59)
Other Updates – Adoption fees returned to $60 per animal as mandated by ordinance; fees can be waived at events or for capacity. Return-to-owner fees now charged. Microchipping efforts continue but return-to-owner rates have not significantly increased due to unregistered chips and owner non-responsiveness. Adoption application is being revised. Two board nominations are pending: Angela Hobson referred to council committee, and another nominee being explored.
Key Outcomes
- All three resolutions (#03-26, #04-26, #05-26) were approved unanimously by voice vote.
- The board acknowledged the successful move to the new shelter and the high current occupancy.
- Directors noted ongoing staffing challenges and recruitment efforts.
- The meeting adjourned at 8:56 AM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we're gonna go ahead and call to order the board for Indianapolis Animal Care Services. Today is May 18th, 2026, and the time is 8 35 a.m. We can start with introductions. Angela Finch, board secretary. Chris Roberson, mayoral appointee to the board. Brett Miles, mayoral appointee. Amanda Honey Hinkle, director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services. I don't know if we need to. Ben Markle filling in as board counsel. All right. And first on the agenda, we will adoption of minutes from our last board meeting, April 20th, 2026. I think I think technically, since we didn't have a quorum, we probably don't have minutes to approve. Yeah, I didn't know if we we tabled everything, so all right. Then we will go on to new business for James Finlayson for resolution 0326. All right, presenting 0326. This is a management contract with the Indianapolis Marion County Building Authority to manage our bright new shiny shelter, which we are very, very happy to have. There's not a not to exceed limit tied to this contract as it's just a we pay rent annually to the building authority and they maintain the building on our behalf. So and it's a 10-year term. So any questions. Yeah, in the new shelter. And they're also on a different fiscal year as well. So they I think their fiscal year ends June 30th, I think. Um so they do some funky budgeting, but yeah, it was planned out already in this current current year. Our building rent is a lot higher than the old place. No further questions. I pointed out just a minor typo in the last paragraph that will be corrected. Okay. No further discussion. I take a motion to approve. So moved. All right. And then we'll move on to resolution 0426. All right. Um this is another shelter, veteran contract shelter veterinarian. Um, she's been pretty eager to get started. It is um Dr. Grimes, who is previously worked in the shelter before to some capacity. I'm not sure when she stopped, but I think it was two, three years ago. Um, but she's interested in working with us again, and I think we'll probably continue to have good luck recruiting contract vets in the new shelter. So, any questions about Dr. Grimes' contract? Is this is she going to do a set number of hours per month, or is it kind of a that is a billing as needed at the moment. Um, haven't decided on her full schedule, but I believe she was more interested in about once a week, once every two weeks, and I just wanted to add some uh enough to the contract to make sure if she changed her mind and was able to do more. She we've had the the flexibility to have her in and do more. So it sounds like it's structured as like an hourly rate. Yes. She's paid an hourly and will be paid an hourly rate. Um, I don't remember offhand, it's either I think 100 or hundred twenty-five an hour. Um and then we have a list in the in the contract attachments that uh includes all the services that generally you could be expected to be doing and then just go off at an hourly rate. So it's very similar to Dr.
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