As Fresno deals with an animal crisis, city officials have raised the prices of adoptions, sterilization, vaccines, and microchipping.

However, that fees can be negotiated in some cases, said Alma Torres, the Fresno Animal Center’s new permanent director.

Vaccines will cost $17, microchipping $15, sterilization $210, and dog and cat adoptions $225 following a 5-1 vote by the Fresno City Council on Thursday.

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias opposed the fee hikes.

Those fees can be lowered or waived altogether in some circumstances, Torres said. The city doesn’t charge for found animals.

“There are times when we have sufficient funding available from granting agencies. At other times it would have to be paid from general fund dollars, but we are open to subsidizing when needed,” Torres said. “Many of the prices there are just what the actual cost might be.”

Adoptions Could Cost $300: Arias

Torres said decisions to lower fees follow talks with customers. If there’s a legitimate need, staff will lower the price.

On March 7, the UC Davis Koret Shelter donated $3.2 million to the city and county of Fresno for animal services through the San Francisco Society for the Prevention and Cruelty of Animals.

The city uses that grant money for special clinics, such as the $25 spay/neuter programs that come with vaccinations and microchipping.

Torres expects that funding to last another two years.

Related Story: Is Fresno’s Low-Kill Animal Shelter Policy Endangering Public Health?

Arias called the fee increases counterintuitive as the city deals with cat and dog overpopulation at the shelter.

“Several hundred dollars to adopt an animal that we’re essentially begging people to adopt is a barrier,” Arias said. He said fee flexibility can be too subjective.

The Fresno Animal Center was created to be a public benefit and not an enterprise, he said.

City Manger: Animal Fees ‘Outdated’

Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White called the fee schedule “outdated.”

There are times, especially in cases of cruelty, when staff need the flexibility to charge fees.

Having everything free doesn’t create a sense of urgency in people, said White.

“I know it sounds silly, but when we do a $5 Thursday adoption event, we get more interest than when we say it’s free,” White said. “It’s a psychology, marketing thing.”