Budget conference: Kennel cash for Putnam County

Who’s a good boy? The Florida Legislature, at least in the eyes of Putnam County.

Wednesday’s budget conference committees see a doggone good agreement to throw the county a bone and slide in $250,000 for an animal control shelter.

The money, which is half of the original ask from Sen. Travis Hutson, will match $750,000 in local funding for a “new Putnam County Animal Shelter containing office space for staff, proper housing facilities for feline residents, sufficient kennels to handle the canine population, and enough additional space to handle non-typical animal shelter residents.”

When it’s raining cats and dogs, the need is especially acute, the funding request notes.

“During and after severe weather events, shelter must accommodate increased population due to local flooding related to Putnam County’s coastal community status.”

The nonrecurring funding will help with planning, designing, engineering, and ultimately constructing the facility, and “sheltering the growing number of stray and dangerous animals,” including “space for non-traditional animal control center residents, and isolated space for animals presenting a public safety threat.”

The project is pitched as a boon to residents and visitors alike.

It “will benefit agricultural production improvement, environmental preservation, and protecting the general public from harm. Positive feedback from the community, conservation groups, farmers, and law enforcement, and a reduction in animal attacks will be the qualitative indicators of the intended benefits of the program being realized.”

This issue appears to be closed out, but other issues remain ahead of Sine Die next week.

Budget conference subcommittees will meet throughout the week to resolve differences in each area. When remaining issues reach an impasse, they will be “bumped” to the full budget conference committee.

Lawmakers must reach an agreement on a final spending plan by May 2 to meet the 72-hour “cooling off” period required by the state constitution before they can vote on the budget to avoid pushing the Regular Session past its scheduled May 5 end date.