Salina City Commissioners Monday voted to contract an outside industry expert to conduct an operational assessment of the Salina Animal Shelter.

Animal Shelter Services LLC will perform the assessment, at a cost of $30,000.

Tim Crum is the owner of the Animal Shelter Services. He has worked in the shelter industry for nearly 30 years. He will provide an unbiased overview of the shelter. He will have a draft report available by the end of July.

Following a couple of failed inspections, one in 2023 and one in January of this year, the Animal Shelter, and Animal Services Manager Monique Hawley and Operations Superintendent Andrea Murphy,have been under scrutiny regarding shelter management and euthanasia practices.

The failed inspection at the shelter earlier this year found among other issues:

• Employees who had not been trained or certified in euthanasia were carrying them out
• Multiple animals were euthanized by a heart-stick lethal injection into the animal’s heart
• One cat euthanized via heart stick was never sedated

The Saline County Attorney’s Office has filed misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against both of them in a pending case.

The shelter has since passed a re-inspection.