Another Convulsion At Hi-Tor Animal Care Center

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Rockland Green, the county waste and animal-care agency, fired the Hi-Tor Animal Care Center's executive director, board members, and staff on Thursday, The Journal News reported.

The agency hired a local cat rescue group to run the antiquated, over-crowded facility, plus former shelter manager Michael Sanducci, according to TJN.

Rockland Green Executive Director Gerard Damiani told reporter Steve Lieberman that the previous management failed to care properly for the animals or run the shelter properly.

Brett Yagel, who had taken over as Hi Tor's executive director in August, said Rockland Green's move was illegal, the paper reported. (Yagel told TJN when he took over as executive director, he replaced fired attorney Rick Tannenbaum, hired in January and fired by the board on Sept. 1 apparently over policy disagreements.)

Read the full article on lohud.com

Sanducci is a returnee. He had managed the shelter until he was ousted in 2018 for complaining about lack of essentials including support and money from the shelter's board — which offered justifications that infuriated the previous board's president.

Hi Tor is the only animal care and control shelter in Rockland, taking in more than 2,500 animals each year. The County of Rockland has traditionally provided some funding to and made county facilities available to Hi Tor for animal control and care. But the shelter has suffered for years from overcrowding and underfunding, in a facility basically unchanged since 1972.

The shelter has been run by a small staff augmented by volunteers and supported through fundraising and contracts with municipalities for animal control. It has suffered for years from overcrowding and underfunding, in a facility basically unchanged since 1972. It has also suffered from lack of resources and infighting. A new larger facility was to be built using county, state and private funds (a ceremonial groundbreaking event was held in October 2021); but the plan was scrapped when town officials expressed concerns about Hi-Tor's operations and competence.

Rockland Green, founded in 1994 to handle waste prevention, recovery, and disposal for the county, had its charter amended this year with approval from the Rockland County Legislature and New York State Legislature to allow it to also handle animal control.

The Rockland County government's involvement in local animal control came to an end in 2022. The boards of Hi-Tor and Rockland Green signed a contract in mid-December under which Rockland Green was to increase the taxes it levies to cover $1.4 million for the shelter and $225,000 for a lease on a planned new shelter location in Haverstraw, the Rockland Business Journal reported. The cost to taxpayers would be about $20 a year, except in Orangetown, which now has its own arrangements for animal control. Taxpayers there will pay about $2 a year to Rockland Green.

SEE ALSO:

• County Bows Out As Rockland Green, Hi-Tor Plan Future
• Criminal Charges Dismissed Against Hi-Tor President
• Town Officials Check Hi Tor Animal Shelter
• Rockland Lawmakers To Consider Crisis At Hi Tor Tuesday