Saratoga City Council members will decide Wednesday, Oct. 7, whether to stay with San Jose Animal Care and Services or ask staff to explore other animal control providers, with a contract deadline at the end of the year.
The city's agreement with San Jose covers animal control, sheltering, rabies control, public safety calls and related services. It renews automatically for another three years on June 30, 2027, unless Saratoga notifies San Jose by Dec. 31, 2026 that it will not renew, according to a staff report by Code Compliance Officer Nathan Sagastume.
Staff compared three agencies that serve the area. The report makes no recommendation, asking the council either to continue with San Jose or to have staff return later with alternatives.
The three options
San Jose Animal Care and Services, the current provider, works out of the San Jose Animal Care Center at 2750 Monterey Road and also serves Cupertino and Milpitas. The report lists a workforce of roughly 70 to 85 full-time positions. Its contract with Saratoga calls for crews to reach 85% of top-priority calls, such as dangerous animals or critically injured animals, within an hour. The current agreement lets the price rise 4% a year, the report says.
Santa Clara County's Animal Services Division, part of the county's Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency, runs its shelter at 12425 Monterey Road in San Martin and serves unincorporated areas, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Sunnyvale. Staff describe it as strong on livestock, rural and open-space calls, which could suit Saratoga's hillside and larger residential parcels. Routine calls are answered within eight business hours, and the county already patrols unincorporated land around Saratoga, the report notes.
Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority is a joint powers agency whose members include Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View and Santa Clara, with a shelter on Thomas Road in Santa Clara. It lists response times of 20 to 45 minutes for the most urgent calls. Staff caution that joining a joint powers authority brings long-term governance commitments and shared capital costs. Los Gatos' contract with the authority also carries 4% annual increases.