Quesnel Observer - November 30/03
Cash crunch could close SPCA
Manager seeks funding increase from municipality
By Neil Horner
Quesnel’s SPCA animal shelter could find itself forced to close its doors if it doesn’t come up with some cash in a big hurry.
That was the gloomy message that shelter manager Barb Onciul presented to Quesnel’s municipal council Monday night as she prepared the stage for a request for a funding increase.
After giving a detailed account of the SPCA’s mandate, both provincially and locally, Onciul laid the shelter’s financial crisis on the line.
“We need additional funding, or we face closure in 2004,” she said. “This will be one of the toughest years in our history.”
The crisis comes after the shelter lost $11,000 in lottery funding, $10,000 in inter-branch income, a $4,300 HRDC wage subsidy, and other cuts, for a total of just over $45,000.
Combined with an increase in payroll costs and other expenditures, the budget of $126,000 to run the shelter could be as much as $90,000 short.
The City of Quesnel gives $20,250 per year for animal control, but Onciul noted that this figure is one of the lowest in the province. She also noted that, although as many as half of the stray animals sheltered by the SPCA come from the rural area, the Cariboo Regional District refuses to fund animal control.
The BC SPCA’s $4 million deficit, Onciul said, means the provincial body will not be able to help in any way.
“For a shelter like Quesnel, this is devastating,” she said. “Cuts have been made, but with the loss of income sources, mostly due to downsizing, there is no alternative but for us to find additional funding or face closure.”
Despite the bad news, Onciul expressed optimism that, if the shelter can survive in the short term, a new series of fundraising programs could eventually turn things around. However, she stressed that these are long-term projects and won’t be able to make much of a dent in the immediate crisis.
Council thanked Onciul for her presentation and agreed to bring up the matter during the 2004 budget discussions.
Editor
Neil Horner
992-2121
newsroom@quesnelobserver.com