Commerce City proposes nearly tripling Riverdale shelter payment to $244,567
The proposed 2027 payment would rise $158,487 under a cost-sharing formula based primarily on cities’ average qualifying animal intakes.
Commerce City has proposed raising its 2027 contribution to the Riverdale Animal Shelter to $244,567, up from $86,080 this year. The increase would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if the City Council approves the related intergovernmental agreement.
The payment is included in the proposed Public Safety budget. The city’s 2027 budget presentation lists the shelter fee as subject to future council action.
The proposed change would shift more of the shelter’s costs to municipal partners. Cities would cover 20% of shelter costs and Adams County would cover 80%, with the total municipal share rising to $931,368 from $371,113 in 2026.
Each city’s share would be based primarily on its average number of qualifying live-animal intakes from 2023 through 2025. Commerce City’s packet lists an average of 820 qualifying intakes and a 17.8% share of the municipal intake allocation.
Qualifying animals include strays, bite quarantines, police and court holds, and animals born at the shelter while connected to those holds. The proposed formula assigns protective-custody animals, Families in Transition crisis-pet sheltering and several services for owned pets to Adams County. Disposal and wildlife cases, along with shelter-neuter-return and trap-neuter-return cats, would be billed separately.
The Riverdale Animal Shelter information packet calculates the proposed partner share from $4.66 million in 2025 shelter expenses, offset by $1.06 million in other revenue. It describes $244,567 as a proposed 2027 contract amount, not a final fee.
The packet is supporting material for the City Council’s Sept. 14 budget workshop. The council agenda identifies that meeting as an informational study session rather than a formal vote on the agreement. The proposal remains subject to future council action.