DALLAS _ Dallas City Council members came together Tuesday to support a plan that consultants say could fix the city's loose dog problem for good.
The council got on board with nearly all of the recommendations offered by Boston Consulting Group, which suggested a major overhaul of Dallas Animal Services coupled with a massive spay-and-neuter effort in southern Dallas.
"I feel real hope for the first time in years," said Jonnie England, a longtime animal advocate who founded Operation Kindness, a no-kill shelter in Carrollton, and attended the meeting.
The rare showing of unity among the council came at a special session in which members pressured the city manager to carry out the plan offered by BCG. Fed up after years of roaming dog complaints culminated with a woman's death in May, council members encouraged the city to "go big" on the dog issue _ "or go home."
"It is past time to take action on this," council member Adam McGough told his colleagues.
But some council members clashed with City Manager A.C. Gonzalez over a proposal to turn DAS into its own department.
Gonzalez said he was "not ready to embrace" making DAS its own unit within the city structure, which BCG recommended in order to make the department more visible and hold its leader accountable. Right now, DAS is housed within Code Compliance, which means the head of DAS reports up through three layers of management.
Gonzalez said he couldn't see how making DAS an independent department would improve things, as DAS is already on "the front burner in terms of attention."
Council member Scott Griggs, who grilled Gonzalez on whether he would give "enthusiastic yeses" to the BCG plan, said he was disappointed by the lack of support for restructuring DAS.
"This is the first time ever that Mr. Gonzalez has said he doesn't want to add to the hierarchy of Dallas City Hall," he said. "And this is the one time we need to."
His comments drew applause from animal advocates, who often passionately disagree about how to best protect dogs and people, but in this case, generally agree that DAS should be its own unit.
Maeleska Fletes, who serves on the Dallas Animal Commission, said the city needs to give DAS manager Jody Jones the power to run her department, just as it leaves Police Chief David Brown to oversee police.
She pointed out that Jones "sat in the very back" at Tuesday's meeting, "with no voice whatsoever." Restructuring the department, she said, would give Jones the power to do her job.
Others agree the department needs to be reorganized _ but don't think Jones should be the one running it.
Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates said she would wait to see if the city manager could find a way to carry out BCG's recommendations without making DAS its own unit.
Gonzalez has promised to come back with a plan within 30 days.
As part of that, he'll need to figure out whether the city can afford to spend an additional $1 million on animal services, as recommended by BCG.
"It's all about choices," said Lee Kleinman, who represents North Dallas. "This council needs to make the choices about whether we're going to put money into this plan, put money into Fair Park, put money into recruiting young officers in our Police Department."
Peter Brodsky, who chairs the Dallas Animal Commission and raised donations to hire BCG, urged the council to fund the project in full. He said private donors will not agree to pay for the 46,000 spay-and-neuter surgeries needed each year unless they see a commitment from the city.
"They want to know that everybody is doing their part," Brodsky said.
Rickey Callahan, who represents Pleasant Grove, said he has almost been bitten several times in his district. He implored Gonzalez to do whatever it takes to solve the loose dog issue.
"If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch," he said, adding that city management either needs to "stay on the porch or get out there and solve the problem."
