Union leadership and frontline staff urged the City to hire an outside director to replace the departing director and reset shelter culture. An internal staff survey showed overwhelming support for external recruitment to rebuild trust, morale, integrity, accountability, and transparency. The shelter has faced overcrowding, poor conditions, and an increase in animal deaths that led to loss of a no-kill designation. A 2024 city auditor report confirmed operational failures and prompted City Council demands for improvements. Animal advocates continue to question progress while the city implements audit recommendations.
The union representing the frontline workers at San José's beleaguered Animal Care Center has implored the city to hire a new director from outside the ranks, warning that a failure to do so would erode trust, morale and service and "perpetuate the very dysfunction the city claims to want to fix." Although the city is pushing forward with recommendations from a scathing audit that took the shelter to task for operating above capacity and poor conditions,
"These sentiments, backed by the overwhelming numbers in our survey, reinforce a clear message: staff are calling for a clean break from the past and a leader who can reset the culture, rebuild trust, and bring the shelter forward," the letter stated. "We respectfully urge the City to commit to an external recruitment process for the next permanent director of ACS. The staff at ACS deserves leadership that will restore integrity, accountability, and transparency to the shelter."
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