Approve Animal Impound and Containment Services MOU

At the October 28, 2025, City Council Work Session, the Animal Impound and Containment Services MOU was discussed, and consensus was reached to move forward by formally entering into this agreement with the City of Anoka. This MOU establishes the terms and responsibilities related to the intake, impound, and rehoming of animals.

The information below was also presented in the work session case:

The Ramsey Police Department has a long-standing 20+ year arrangement with the Anoka Police Department, where Officers and CSOs of the Ramsey Police Department are able to bring dogs to the Anoka Police Animal Containment Center. For years, we have benefited from their generosity, paying a fraction of the cost for these accommodations, often with the fees being paid for by the dog owners. The last written documentation of this agreement is dated July 22, 2015, which is a letter advising of a fee increase to take effect in 2016. Prior to this increase, the last increase was five years prior to that, on January 1st, 2011.

Facilities for housing stray dogs have become increasingly scarce. This is partially due to the facilities being unwilling to intake animals with an unknown vaccination status, therefore potentially exposing the other dogs at that facility to disease. The City of Anoka has a new Animal Containment Center, which is attached to its new indoor firearms range and police training facility. For compensation for operating this facility and its staff, the City of Anoka is now charging an annual administrative fee of $10,000, which will take effect on January 1st, 2026. The City of Ramsey generally does not impound stray cats; however, it is required by Ramsey City Ordinance and Minnesota State Statute to impound dogs (see below and attached for additional details).

Upon learning of this new administrative fee, the Ramsey Police Department researched other options in the area and began researching building its own Ramsey Animal Containment Center. In our research, we learned that, effective January 1st, 2026, the Animal Humane Society will no longer be accepting dogs from any of the local Police Departments in Anoka County, and the options to bring dogs from Ramsey to a facility are limited within close proximity.

Using the researched fees in the area and due to the increased impoundment and daily fees for the Anoka Containment Center, the dog impoundment fee was increased from $25/day to $30/day in the 2026 proposed rates and fees. Although not commonly used, a dog euthanization fee of $60 was added to the rates and fees schedule. The per-incident impoundment fee of $125 was not increased.  These fees will help offset the cost of this service versus placing the entire cost on the general fund levy.

Minnesota State Statute Chapter 347 regulates dogs and cats, specifically section 347.14 Subd. 2. Prohibition; enforcement. It specifically states, "Any person who has seized or impounded a dog with or without a license under this section shall deliver the dog to the humane officer of the town or city, if a humane officer exists; or, if there is not a humane officer, to the town or city peace officer."

Ramsey City Ordinance Chapter 10, Article 2, regulates dogs and the impoundment of dogs. Specifically, section 10-54(1) states that the animal control officer shall seize, impound, or restrain any dog found running at large within the city. Additionally, section 10-95(a) says that, "All dogs picked up by the animal control officer or any of their duly authorized assistants shall be immediately transported to the designated pound."

Options are limited, and therefore, continuing the arrangement with the City of Anoka by entering into this MOU is currently the best option for the City of Ramsey.

This is funded through the general levy and animal ownership fees owed for the service. The adopted 2026 preliminary budget did not include this expense; however, staff will adjust the final budget accordingly, specifically in Business Unit 0270 Animal Control, under 6489 Other Contracted Services.

Approve a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Anoka and the City of Ramsey for animal containment services in the amount of $10,000 that this case discusses.

Motion to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Anoka and the City of Ramsey for animal containment services in 2026.