OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The City of Oshkosh is proposing paying the humane society 44% less to take in local strays, although the shelter says it is continuing to negotiate.
- The City pays the Oshkosh Area Humane Society for local animal services, making up 4.5% of the shelter’s total funding.
- The Oshkosh 2026 Proposed Budget would lower the tax rate, but it would also cut pay to OAHS.
- OAHS Executive Director Ieva Engel says they continue to negotiate with the city.
Last year, OAHS took in 701 stray and impounded animals, according to Engel.
OAHS is the only organization that provides animal services for the City of Oshkosh. The shelter helps the Oshkosh Police Department with stray animals, animal bites, vicious animals, cruelty and neglect, abandonment, and other animal-related complaints.
In 2025, Oshkosh paid OAHS $107,600 for these services. In the proposed 2026 budget, the city is allocating $60,000, representing a 44.2% decrease.
Engel says the money they receive from the City accounts for 4.5% of their total budget. The shelter runs primarily on donations.
“We were surprised that the funding was going to be reduced, but we also understand that the city needs to balance the needs of so many different areas,” Engel says.
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On Tuesday, the City held a public hearing on the proposed budget. Multiple people spoke during public comment in support of OAHS.
“There can never be enough funding for animals,” Carmen Leal, a taxpayer who spoke at the public budget hearing, says. “The humane society does wonderful work, and they're a critical part of keeping us safe and animals safe… That being said, everybody's budget is limited."
Leal says she hopes the funding will continue, though she understands the City’s decision.
“You don't get it both ways– you don't get to be outraged at a tax increase and demand a tax decrease if you're not willing to say what we're going to take away,” she says.
After public comment, Councilor Jacob Floam proposed an amendment to continue paying the Humane Society the same rate as in 2025, but the motion failed 5-1.
“The long and the short of it is, we do not give donations to nonprofits,” Oshkosh city councilor Karl Buelow said at the hearing. “Anything that is above a standard contracted rate would be a donation.”
OPD Chief Dean Smith also addressed the decision during the hearing.
“It’s not a decision about whether or not animals should be treated well; everybody wants animals to be treated well, but we also had to look at this as a business decision for taxpayer dollars,” Chief Smith said. “We wanted to right-side the contract based upon what our peers around us are paying.”
In comparison, the City of Appleton paid the Fox Valley Humane Society $13,000 in 2025 for animal services.
The City of Fond du Lac allocated around $26,000 to the Fond du Lac Humane Society for similar services in 2024.
Chief Smith says they are considering contracting the humane society’s services through an animal-by-animal rate, similar to Fond du Lac.
“We'd obviously have to up our fundraising efforts to close that gap, but I do want to make sure that everybody knows that just because we're renegotiating our contract, the animals will still be our number one priority,” Engel says. “We will not be decreasing any services or the level of care that the animals who enter the Oshkosh Area Humane Society get.”
Engel says she expects to wrap up negotiations soon.
“Negotiations are ongoing, but the city wants to continue doing the right thing as well, so I'm confident we will arrive at an agreement,” she says.
Through a City spokesperson, City Manager Rebecca Grill says she declines to comment further while negotiations are ongoing.
