Chavez began his presentation by saying there was some good and bad to 2009.

"The bad was we've been looking at economy the last couple of years, and were preparing to see a reduction for our business licenses," Chavez said.

With nearly 1,700 registered businesses in the unincorporated county, the director said staff was predicting the mailing of only around 700 business license renewal letters.

"We sent out nearly 1,200 renewal letters. We are pleased that we had to order more stationery to send out the renewal notifications," he said. "Now, we'll see how many stay."

For residential new construction permits, 2009 ended with only 90 issued compared to 164 the previous year and 248 in 2007.

Chavez was happy to report that the county's animal shelter beat its goal of 1,000 adoptions this year by adopting out 1,106 animals. He also said transport director Patty Mugan took 1,166 animals to other facilities throughout the region for adoption.

Between 1995 and 2000, the county had a euthanasia rate of 94 to 95 percent, Chavez said.

"We ended 2009 with a 58 percent euthanasia rate. Basically, that means 10 years ago, only one in 10 animals made it out. Now there's a 50-50 chance," he said. "Those are fantastic figures, and we certainly want to improve. Being an open shelter, we have tried for the last several years to maintain our euthanasia rates and reduce them."

In looking at the increase in the county's population, Chavez reported that the number of animals taken in by the shelter has actually remained steady.

"In 2000, we had a population around 64,000, and today we are projecting 74,000," he said. "Every year, we get more and more people, and even though our population has increased for the last eight years, we have averaged about 6,400 animals a year.

"If each household averages 1.5 kids, we figure there are 2.5 dogs. Intake has stayed the same even with the population increase."

Chavez said the shelter's statistics have improved due to the department's efforts to get animals licensed and micro-chipped, which has improved the shelter's ability to return lost pets to their rightful owners.

Shelter director Eric Tanner added that just the simple act of putting collars and identification tags on pets has also helped with the department's return rate.

"And rather than just issuing citations, the officers have been out talking to people, educating them," Chavez said. "The figures show these tactics are working."

This past fall, the shelter received a $1,500 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Chavez reported.

"A former ASPCA employee had visited the county shelter several years ago. When she came back, she was blown away," Chavez said. "They asked us what we needed, our wish list."

What the shelter needed was a transport vehicle for Mugan so she didn't have to use her personal vehicle anymore. With the $1,500, the shelter was able to convert a van donated by the Belen Senior Center into a transport vehicle.

Chavez said the ASPCA called the shelter just last month saying they had an extra $1,500 if the county was interested. The additional funds will be used pay for the transport trips Mugan does on a regular basis to shelters in the Denver, Colo., area. Chavez said she takes between 24 to 34 animals at a time, depending on size.

During 2009, several high-profile hoarding cases in the county have made the national news, Chavez said, and have even been Tweeted about. Animal Planet even expressed interest in filming a show centered around the shelter.

"We weren't sure what they were wanting. Maybe recreate a hoarding situation," Chavez said with a shrug. "We told them we'd call them if we had another case."

Commissioner David Medina asked how often animal control officers were out in Highland Meadows, the county's western most community some 40 miles from Los Lunas, and what response times were like. Tanner said one of his officers is out there at least once a week

"If we have an officer at the shelter in Los Lunas, it takes us 45 minutes," Tanner said of the travel time. "If we don't have an officer available immediately, we call and let them know we will be out the next day."

Medina said he had received calls that animal control didn't respond for a week to calls in Highland Meadows.

Tanner asked for the names and numbers for those people, so he could get in touch with them. Medina said he would provide that information.

"It is difficult with that kind of distance," Tanner said. "If someone reports a dog roaming the streets, by the time we get there, even if it is the same day, the animal is usually long gone."