FINANCIAL relief is likely to be offered to not-for-profit pet rescue organisation Wet Noses Animal Rescue as a community grant is foreshadowed to help ease vet bills.
Mount Gambier City Council is expected to help the local organisation following Wet Noses’ presentation to council last week.
Committed volunteers attended the budget submission meetings, which allowed members of the public to seek funding support from elected members.
Volunteer Maxine Spence spoke to elected members highlighting the impact their organisation has on the wider community.
The organisation will now be offered a community grant rather than having funding allocated within the budget.
Not needing to apply for the grant, the organisation is expected to use the funds to help with ongoing vet bills with adoption fees not quite covering the overall
expenses.
The funding will also allow the pet rescue organisation to purchase more equipment to help more animals.
With the exact amount of funding still to be negotiated, Ms Spence said the group was grateful for any amount to help ease financial on the volunteer group.
“We are so happy the council heard what we had to say and then took it on board,” she said.
“Our deputation was well received and the elected members asked very important questions.”
Wet Noses is reliant on fundraising and hopes council’s contribution will ease pressure both off the organisation and the wider community.
“There are so many fundraisers that happen around the city,” Ms Spence said.
“The community can only keep giving until a certain point with fundraising activities.
“We understand this and we do not have unrealistic expectations of the community to continually give money to us all the time.”
Mount Gambier City Council chief executive Andrew Meddle said the grant will allow the organisation to obtain their funding without extra fundraising activities.
“I think there was a widespread feeling from elected members the volunteers are passionate local people who are going the extra mile to look after the cats,” Mr Meddle said.
“Especially the cats within the local community and they deal with a range of issues which are worthy of support.”
Mr Meddle said although the dollar figure was yet to be determined, it is likely to be a two stage operation.
The Wet Noses funding contribution follows a package brokered by council with the South East Animal Welfare League.
The package will be dependant on certain key performance indicators, with Mr Meddle saying until the measurements are negotiated with the animal welfare league and Grant District Council, there is no known figure for Wet Noses.
“One of our aims is through the key performance indicators is to link the animal welfare league with Wet Noses,” he said.
“This will allow both organisations to operate better together and reduce both sets of costs.
“We are going to try and ensure that more cats are cared for by the welfare league so Wet Noses are not under as much pressure.”
The 2019/20 Annual Draft Budget and Business Plan is expected to be formally adopted at a chamber meeting tomorrow night.
