OSHKOSH – The city may not be far from a resolution with the Oshkosh Area Humane Society.
Both the nonprofit animal shelter and Oshkosh Police Department revealed they’re still in the process of renegotiating a new contract following public outrage over a proposed 44% cut to the Animal Care Budget in the city’s 2026 operating budget.
“We’re going to get there, we just need to continue the negotiation side of this,” confirmed Police Chief Dean Smith, who said the two sides met as recently Tuesday morning, Nov. 4.
Smith’s assurance came as part of an emotionally charged Nov. 4 public hearing session on the 2026 proposed budget at City Hall, with several community members voicing their concerns over the potential change in contract.
In a move to right-size the contract based on funding models from neighboring cities, OPD proposed reducing its contribution from $107,582 to $60,000, triggering public backlash online.
What happened at the public hearing?
Seven of the first nine speakers at the public hearing addressed that particular budget item, including OAHS Executive Director Ieva Engel, who acknowledged the society negotiated with Smith and City Manager Rebecca Grill Nov. 4.
“We’re an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and outside of contracted services for the City of Oshkosh and a few smaller municipalities, we do not receive funding from any other government or statewide or nationwide animal welfare organization,” Engel said.
“We are 90% donor funded,” Engel added, advocating for “a solution that maintains the high standard of care and safety Oshkosh residents expect.”
The proposal seeks to slash contract funding by just more than 44%, but the decrease represents just a 2.41% drop in OAHS’s reported revenue of $1.97 million. According to the society’s 990 form, the nonprofit also has total assets of close to $9 million.
What has happened in the negotiating process?
Addressing Common Council, Smith explained the contract is renegotiated every three years, with his department offering a proposal in September.
OAHS gave its counterproposal last week before the two sides met again Nov. 4.
Smith said the current contract model is a lump sum payment, and the OPD wanted to right-size the deal to what other cities — like Appleton and Neenah — were paying on a “per-animal-served payment.”
Smith said, “Everyone wants animals to be treated well, but we also had to look at this as a business decision for taxpayer dollars. We had good discussions this morning [Tuesday] and we think we’re going to get there.”
How many animals does the OAHS serve?
According to Engel, OAHS served more than 3,200 animals last year, including 701 strays from the City of Oshkosh — 112 of which were brought in by OPD.
Engel said OAHS receives $150 per animal from the police but the cost for “basic care” for each stray is $250.
“I have to believe this proposal to defund the animal services contract with OAHS stems from a lack of understanding of the value OAHS brings to our community and to OPD,” said community member Cari Tetzlaff. “Not everyone is capable of doing this incredibly challenging work.”
Did Common Council amend the budget item to increase OAHS funding?
In a motion on the floor, Common Council member Jacob Floam proposed amending the budget to fund the contract at the previous total of $107,582 but the motion was voted down 5-1 on the floor.
The meeting seemingly got somewhat testy thereafter, with Mayor Matt Mugerauer saying he was “disappointed” council appeared to be negotiating a contract in public.
His comments appeared to draw the ire of both Floam and council member DJ Nichols, who said Mugerauer should have ended the discussion earlier instead of “admonishing us after the fact.”
A visibly annoyed Floam went one step further, saying “this is a budget meeting, we’re allowed to discuss this budget.”
“This is a budget line item, and frankly it’s a bit ridiculous that you’re going to say we should go into closed session to discuss this; a budget line item we have the power to discuss now and do the amendments now,” he added.
Preparing her first Oshkosh budget, Grill proposed a total $236,238,946 operating budget while keeping a flat tax levy of $47 million.
What else is in the proposed 2026 budget?
The city also recommended lowering the mill rate from $8.14 to $7.73, meaning the owner of a home valued at $200,000 would pay $1,546 for the city’s portion of the tax bill.
Common Council is set to vote on the budget Nov. 11.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Oshkosh Police Department hints a new contract with the Humane Society is near
Reporting by Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
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