Deschutes County and animal shelters in Redmond and Bend agreed to a new contract for services this week, after the last agreements expired in 2012.

The contracts with Humane Society of Central Oregon and BrightSide Animal Center (formerly the Humane Society of Redmond) were extended twice during negotiations.

The new contracts dramatically boost payments from the county for dogs — from $26 per day to $40. In most cases the county will only pay for five days of boarding at the shelters. The fees for cats also increase from $5 per day to $10, but those only apply to cats impounded by official means, which, according to deputy county administrator Erik Kropp, “almost never happens.”

The fee hikes, said Kropp, were meant to reflect the increased costs both facilities have incurred since 2006, including veterinary services and vaccines.

According to BrightSide manager Chris Bauersfeld, vaccine costs have doubled since 2006. Thankfully the number of stray dogs seen in the shelter has been gradually declining, she added.

Cats, however, continue to be a problem, Bauersfeld said. There is no cat licensing fee in Deschutes County and no dedicated revenue stream for taking them in.

The shelter’s new contracts also changed the revenue share from dog license payments, with a new formula Bauersfeld admitted she didn’t totally understand yet.

“We agreed to the new contract because we needed to move forward but I can’t tell how the new licensing system will affect us yet — it is confusing,” she said.

According to Kropp, the humane societies will receive $12 per year from every dog license issued — owners are charged $12 for spayed or neutered dogs and $27 for unaltered dogs — but only for those outside any city limits.

BrightSide, for example, will receive $12 per dog license for dogs within Redmond School District boundaries, but all funds from dogs inside Redmond will go to the county.

Bauersfeld said she expects the revenue stream from the county will be close to past funding levels, the increase in boarding fees cancelling out the cut in dog license funds. Previously, the shelters received $6 from licenses they sold, she said.