King County plans to close its animal shelters in Kent and Bellevue by Jan. 31, and let the cities and regional, nonprofit animal-care groups take over the care of the region’s unwanted pets.

The King County Metropolitan Council voted Monday to direct County Executive Kurt Triplett to end the county’s role in the sheltering business. In addition to asking other jurisdictions to take over the care of unwanted local pets, the Council also wants the cities to handle animal-control field services by June 30, 2010 unless the entities can ink new agreements allowing the county to recover the full cost of providing such services to the cities.

Kent and 31 other cities in the county have agreements allowing the county to collect pet-license fees, as a way to fund animal-control officers and the two shelters. But the pet-license fees do not cover all of the costs.

Revenues from pet licenses and other fees have fallen about $2 million short per year of the actual cost of providing animal-care and control services.

With a projected budget shortfall of $56 million next year, the county wants out of the business, so that it can focus its resources on other services and programs.

The County Executive’s Office and the County Council also have battled over the last couple of years about animal care, following a September 2007 citizens’ committee report that called shelter conditions in Kent “deplorable.”

“For three years we’ve heard from consultants, audits, and work groups, unanimously advising us that we have serious problems in our animal-sheltering program,” said Councilwoman Julia Patterson, whose District 5 covers most of Kent, in a county media release. “It’s time to make a decision – get out of the animal sheltering business and turn to community organizations to provide more humane, efficient care.”

The Seattle Human Society, based in Bellevue, is expected to be one of the regional groups that will take over the animal sheltering, contracting with local cities to provide the service.

“We’re the largest nonprofit, and one of several nonprofit groups that want to be part of the solution,” said Brenda Barnette, chief executive officer of the Humane Society, in a phone interview Wednesday. “I don’t see any difficulty in doing it by Jan. 31 when the shelters close as long as we don’t wait until Dec. 31 to start (negotiations).”

Barnette said her group has spoken with the county as well as several cities about taking over sheltering. She said the her agency has the space to handle the animals, but would need at least six weeks’ notice to order additional cages and equipment to meet the Jan. 31 deadline.

Staff from the Seattle Humane Society are working to figure out how much it would cost to expand its sheltering business.

John Hodgson, Kent chief administrative officer, said the city favors a regional approach, rather than the city taking on its own animal care and control program.

“We fully endorse a regional approach to this and not each individual city,” Hodgson said.

The Suburban Cities Association, a regional group with representatives from most of the cities in the county, has had discussions and will continue to meet about alternatives to address the animal-shelter issue, Hodgson said.

Some cities in King County have had their own solutions for years.

The City of Seattle has its own animal control officers and shelter. Renton has its own officers and takes animals to the Seattle Humane Society shelter in Bellevue.

Barnette said the county and representatives from the 32 cities and the nonprofit groups all need to sit down together soon to figure out a new plan, when it comes to caring for the region’s stray animals.

“We need to get started,” Barnette said. “We’ll talk to the cities about a model that could work that they could share with the other cities. We would like that rather than individual negotiations with 32 cities.”

King County still plans to provide animal care and control services to unincorporated areas.

Progressive Animal Welfare Society, based in Lynnwood, announced in a media release last month that it has contacted the cities of Shoreline, Bothell, Woodinville, Lake Forest Park and Kenmore to discuss providing animal sheltering services at its facility due to the county getting out of the business.

PAWS currently contracts with Brier, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Lynnwood and unincorporated Snohomish County to provide shelter for stray dogs and cats.