Expense by category

Animal Care & Placement: 82 percent to 70 percent – 12 percent less than prior year

Events & Admin: 10 percent to 17 percent – 7 percent increase from prior year

Operational Expenses: 8 percent to 13 percent – 5 percent increase from prior year

The numbers above do not and cannot tell the whole story. However, before approving a 15 percent increase over 2012, these changes at least should be addressed before asking for taxpayers to provide more funds. Emmy, you can’t just live on emotion alone.

The other question that I, for one, would like to have answered is how much funding comes from Rutherfordton, Landrum, Campobello or other areas? Of the total intake in 2012, 81 or 5 percent of the animals were from Rutherfordton; 237 or about 14 percent were from Landrum and 116 or 7 percent were from Campobello with an additional 40 or a little over 2 percent from “other” areas (other than it appears Polk County). This amounts to a total 474 of the 1,705 animals taken in during 2012 or 28 percent of the total. This begs the question, what kind of annual increase was requested from these jurisdictions?

Emmy, in your letter to the editor you mentioned a “valid and scrupulously documented request” for the increase of 15 percent. Have you seen this valid and scrupulously documented request? I could not find it posted on the FHS website anywhere; perhaps I missed it.

What necessitates an increase of 15 percent? Is a breakdown of this needed increase available anywhere?

As I understand it, Emmy spends a great deal of time and her own money on helping the Foothills Humane Society and she should be applauded for that. But saying that the request was “a mere” $14,580 does not bode well in these tough economic times; your mere $14,580 is an increase of 15 percent. I am not aware of anyone getting 15 percent increases for anything at this point in time.

If I am not mistaken, the Foothills Humane Society began as an all volunteer organization. Now, according to their own annual report approximately 30 percent of expenditures are spent on administrative and operational expenses; meaning that these funds are not going to the programs and services that the FHS mission espouse. A good way to see what I mean is by using a site called CharityNavigator.org.

Our county commissioners are charged with the task of overseeing all functions of Polk County, for all citizens of Polk County. We would expect them to use more than just emotion, as it seems your letter to the editor portrays.

If you are going to address an issue, the facts need to be presented and please stop using any and everything to attack the commissioners for doing their job.

– Cyndi Breedlove, Mill Spring