Central Nebraska Humane Society (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – The city’s contract with the Central Nebraska Humane Society and financial claims the Humane Society are under scrutiny, particularly by City Council member Chuck Haase.
Haase shared an email he received March 23 with other City Council members from Assistant City Attorney Stacy Nonhof.
“By the letter of the contract, the City should only be paying for animals that are actually placed there by the City. Operationally, that is not necessarily what is happening or what should be happening depending on the circumstances,” Nonhof wrote.
The contract does call for payment for animals that are placed at the Humane Society by the city, through the Police Department, which is now providing animal control officer duties formerly handled by the Humane Society.
Haase had asked Nonhof to review the contract, which will expire on Sept. 30, 028.
“The contract states multiple times ‘placed by the city.’ That term is not actually defined in the contract. In plain language, that wouldmean that the City only pays for animals taken there by GIPS or an ACO (animal control officer). In practice, that is not what is happening.
“CNHS is still accepting public drop-offs and then the city is ‘accepting those animals by starting a case for them,’ Nonhof wrote.
‘If we come up with an acceptable solution, the best course of action is an amendment to the contract defining the new policy,” Nonhof wrote.
Haase asked that an item on the consent agenda regarding approval of claims from March 25 through April 14 be pulled for discussion of a Humane Society claim.
The claim was for $25,000 for one month of the $300,000 annually paid to the Humane Society. Haase noted that the claim indicated it was for April and said it was being submitted 52 days prior to its due date.
A motion to deny paying the claim failed by a 4-4 vote. City Council members Maggie Mendoza and Mike Paulick were absent from the meeting. City Attorney Kari Fisk said that Mayor Roger Steele could not vote to break the tie because he had to cast a “yes” vote. Steele said he would vote against the motion.
A motion to pay the claim then passed by a 7-1 vote, with Haase voting no.
Later in the meeting, the City Council discussed paying a January billing from the Humane Society for $6,058. Haase noted that the Humane Society had been paid $225,000 already of the annual $300,000 amount.
Haase noted his involvement and support of the Humane Society, saying that he and his wife had volunteered at Humane Society events.
Greg Geis, Human Society Board President, said that contract negotiations with the city started in April 2025. The city approved the contract with the Humane Society on Aug. 19, 2025, and amended it on Oct. 14, 2025. The October amendment was that for determining a “day” of placement, “any portion of a day may be used.” The contract runs to Sept. 30, 2026.
“The City will make a per-animal placed payment as set forth in more detail below for any animal placed by the City, but not reclaimed within three full business days,” the contract said. The contract calls for a $25,000 per month payment to the Humane Society for a total of $300,000 per year.
Geis said that the City Council is “beating up” the Humane Society. He said that the only group backing the Humane Society was the Police Department.
Mayor Roger Steele said he was a supporter of the Humane Society, going to events such as the “Fur Ball.”
Geis said that the Humane Society had asked that the contract address animals who were dropped off to be surrendered to the Humane Society, and that didn’t occur.
Police Chief Kevin Denney said that the Police Department was using animal control officers, as well as code enforcement officers, to do “animal control” tasks. The code enforcement officer job description was revised to include that task. Denney gave an example that an officer is using a micro-chip scanner after encountering a pet to see if the pet had been “micro-chipped,” which provides information about the pet’s owner. That way, if the pet has been micro-chipped, it could be returned to the owner without having to take the pet to the Humane Society. He said that the department had 2.5 FTE animal control officers.
The Humane Society charges the city $45 per night for care of a pet. If someone comes to claim a pet that is at the Humane Society, there is a $75 fee.
Ashley Meister, executive director of the Humane Society, said that the Humane Society posts photos of pets with unknown owners on Facebook as a way to try to locate the owners. She said that only about 30 percent of pets are claimed by their owners within three days.
Haase said that the Humane Society has three responsibilities: providing for care of pets at the facility, providing pet adoption, and providing education and outreach about pets.
City Council President Ryan O’Neill said, “I don’t think there’s anyone in the room that doesn’t support the Humane Society.”
A motion to not pay the January claim failed by a 2-6 vote, with City Council members Chuck Haase and Mark Stelk voting for the motion. Then, a motion to pay the claim passed by a 7-1 vote, with Haase voting against it.
