K9 PROGRAM DISCONTINUANCE STATEMENT

RAWIM – Dedication of Benches July 11th, 2024
July 9, 2024
City Hall Closed Monday September 2, 2024 – Labor Day
August 28, 2024
RAWIM – Dedication of Benches July 11th, 2024
July 9, 2024
City Hall Closed Monday September 2, 2024 – Labor Day
August 28, 2024
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K9 PROGRAM DISCONTINUANCE STATEMENT

Earlier this week, City officials made the difficult, yet crucial decision to discontinue the City of Jeannette’s K-9 program in its current form.  Cognizant of their responsibility to protect the interests of the public, and especially City residents and taxpayers, officials acted following criticism of the program and only after extensive evaluation and consideration.  Critically, any new and unknown costs associated with the program made maintaining the program cost prohibitive in light of the City’s already-stretched funding and budgetary constraints.  By necessity, all municipal officials must wrestle with the hard decisions to prioritize certain municipal services over others.  In this instance, the City determined that the effectiveness of the program, unfortunately, did not warrant its continuation.  For example, for the current 2024 calendar year, the K9 program resulted in only 9 criminal deployments and no criminal arrests.  As a result of this decision, the City of Jeannette adds itself to a growing list of municipalities that are unable to continue to maintain a K9 program.  Following the discontinuation of the program, the City has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the affected canine is properly taken care of and rehomed.  Unfortunately, although not everyone may agree with the discontinuation of the program, the City appreciates the respect and understanding of the public in response to this difficult decision.  Most importantly, City officials also wish to thank Diesel and Kilo for their loyal service to the City.