A vote last week by the Dawson County Board of Commissioners requires an annual audit of the local animal shelter's finances.

With the vote, the board also agreed that county funding to the shelter would not decrease.

The decision came a week after commissioners talked about revisiting its contract with the shelter in response to a decrease in the number of dogs and cats taken to the shelter by animal control officers.

According to David McKee, director of administration, the county's cost per animal "has more than doubled" in the last few years.

Initial discussions involved a proposed stipulation that if the number of dogs and cats taken by animal control is less than 10 percent quarterly from the previous year's quarterly totals, then the monthly payment to the shelter from the county shall be reduced by 10 percent for the corresponding quarter.

In a 4-0 vote, the board chose to continue its current funding to the shelter, which is set to receive $126,000 in county funding in 2015, about a third of its annual operational cost.

Commissioner James Swafford, who last week said he was disappointed that an annual audit had not been done in several years, made the motion.

The new contract requires the audit to be complete by June 30.

Andrea McKenzie, the shelter's accountant, said a full audit could cost an estimated $8,000.