May 13, 2025 · Related development

Spay/neuter voucher pilot goes to the City Council as a discussion item

After the advisory board voted 4-0 on April 23, 2025 to send a 100-voucher spay/neuter pilot for residents of the City's Empowerment Zones to the council, the council's May 13, 2025 agenda listed "Animal Management and Welfare Spay and Neuter Voucher Pilot Program" as a discussion item, presented by Deputy City Manager Andrew Freeman. No vote is recorded. Staff had told the board the pilot's money was previously allocated by the council from the discretionary 2023-2024 working budget.^[1]^[2]

Andrew Freeman Cole Stanley

What the sources say

✓ Verified
Council minutes for May 13, 2025 record item 9.F, "Animal Management and Welfare Spay and Neuter Voucher Pilot Program," as a discussion item introduced by Mayor Cole Stanley and presented by Andrew Freeman, Deputy City Manager and Public Safety Director. No vote is recorded. ^[1]
✓ Verified
As presented to the advisory board, the pilot was limited to 100 vouchers for residents of Empowerment Zones, up to four per household, worth $200 for dogs and $100 for cats at participating private clinics, valid 90 days. Staff said the department had no recurring budget line for the program and that money for the pilot was previously allocated by the City Council from the discretionary 2023-2024 working budget; a state grant application could provide up to $20,000 or $30,000 over three years. ^[2]
Vouchers
100
Dog voucher
$200
Cat voucher
$100
✓ Verified
The council's voucher items appear in the minutes of May 13, 2025 (pilot program) and January 13, 2026 (update); the May 27, 2025 and January 27, 2026 minutes reviewed contain no voucher item. ^[1]^[3]

Sources

1.Amarillo City Council Minutes, May 13, 2025 Regular Meeting — City of Amarillo, Jun 24, 2025 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredThe consent motion text excludes "Item No. 8.G" while the preceding sentence says 9.G; the separately considered item was 8.G (police motorcycles).
2.Animal Management & Welfare Advisory Board minutes, April 23, 2025 meeting — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Sep 12, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredItem 4.B, "Discussion on Potential Ordinances to Address Effective Animal Population Management, including Registration of Pets and Mandatory Microchipping of Pets".
3.City Council Regular Meeting minutes, January 13, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Jan 13, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredMinutes PDF from the City's CivicClerk portal (meeting date shown as published date; the minutes were approved at a later meeting). Item 8.1, Amendment No. 2 to the Amended Location Incentive Agreement between AEDC and Texas Tech University.