Getting the Scoop on Poop is Pricey
City of San Juan Capistrano spends about $27,000 a year on the green, plastic bags dog owners use to clean up after their pets.
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Attention dog owners of San Juan Capistrano: Your pets poop a lot!
As City Councilman Derek Reeve was combing through the city’s check register, he noticed a $2,300 payment for the plastic, poopy-pick-up bags offered in parks throughout San Juan Capistrano. That seemed high, so he inquired at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The $2,300 is just for the month, explained Finance Director Cindy Russell. The city spends about $27,000 a year on the tiny, green but pleasant-smelling – at least initially – trash bags.
“That’s a lot of, well, I have a lot of four-letter words going through my mind,” Reeve said. “I assumed it was quarterly. Holy cow!”
The amount is much more than what Laguna Beach pays – $5,865 a year – but a lot less than Dana Point, which will spend $45,000 in MuttMitts this fiscal year.
Dana Point and Laguna Beach both have dog parks. San Juan Capistrano doesn't ... yet. Plans are in the works to open one in the Northwest Open Space.
Aliso Viejo dogs go through almost the same amount of waste bags as San Juan Capistrano, according to city and Aliso Viejo Community Association staffers. The city operates one park, at $1,821 a year for the bags, while the association runs 21 parks and spends $22,000 annually on the bags.
Reeve said if the city needs to find areas to cut when it starts working on the 2012-13 budget, the canine excrement depository bags are a good place to start.
kandis55
8:30 am on Thursday, January 5, 2012
As a dog owner, I carry my own bags. Let the dog owners foot the bill. It's insane that the city is providing them. The rude owners who don't bother to scoop, will leave it even if the bags are 10 feet away.
consultant
4:17 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
How about re-couping some of the monies through citing & fining owners that don't obey the ordinances for leashes in SJC?
Or the owners that, despite having a bag dispenser within the area, prefer to just leave the poop-as commented above?!?
If you charged $100 a pop, I know an area you'd would generate the bag costs in probably... a day!
Penny Arévalo
8:31 am on Monday, January 9, 2012
This just in from the city of Dana Point. They have switched from Mutt Mitts to EcoGreen Pet Pouch Bags (http://www.ecogreennow.com/petpouch.html). That has brought cost down to around $25,000, according to Brian McClure, parks manager for the city of Dana Point. (Patch took the information from that city's budget, which is round online.)