Adoption fees for puppies and kittens will go up, while adoption fees for older, larger mixed-breed animals will go down.
Fees for dog licenses and other services also will go up, but fees for euthanasia and pickup won't change.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the changes in the Pima Animal Care Center fee schedule Tuesday. The changes will go into effect in April.
The goal of the new fees is to improve adoption rates while raising more money for the center, which has seen costs rise as it struggles to handle more calls and more animals.
The fees for kittens and puppies will go up to $95 from $80 for a kitten and $90 for a puppy. The fee for an adult dog will go down to $80 from $90 and the fee for an adult cat will stay at $80.
Animals deemed "less adoptable," those that are older, larger or mixed breed, can be adopted for just $40.
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Meanwhile, fees for dog licenses are going up, most by one dollar, as are fees for many shelter services.
However, the supervisors decided to keep the euthanasia and pickup fees the same at the request of animal advocates. The euthanasia fee was to have increased from $15 to $17 and the pickup fee from $70 to $77.
"I'm concerned about poor animals suffering and close to death," said Jane Schwerin, of People for Animals Inc. "With the increase, the owner might not call to have the animal euthanized. Some people might just throw the animal out on the side of the road."
The fee increases are expected to raise an additional $180,000 a year for the shelter, but there still will be a shortfall of close to $800,000 in the shelter's $4.4 million budget.
The supervisors said the county needs to revisit its agreements with Tucson and other towns, which reimburse the county for animals picked up in their jurisdictions, but ultimately they don't expect the shelter to break even.
In other business, the supervisors voted 4-1 to increase the sewer user fee by 6 percent, starting July 1. The increase is expected to raise the average sewer bill about 84 cents, to $19.82. The fee increase is expected to bring in an extra $3.5 million a year.
Supervisor Ray Carroll voted no. Supervisor Richard Elias supported the increase, but he asked the county to develop an exemption for low-income residents.
The supervisors also approved new license agreements that require utilities located in county rights-of-way to move at their own expense when county road and sewer projects require it.
Many utility companies objected to the requirements of the license agreements, with Tucson Electric Power and Trico Electric Cooperative saying the agreement violates previous, still valid franchise agreements, and small water companies saying the cost of complying could put them out of business.
County officials said they would use the approved agreement as a template and work out problems with individual utility agreements case by case. They also said they would research grants and loans to help water companies with fewer than 500 customers.
The supervisors also voted to approve a rezoning requested by former Supervisor Ed Moore. He is building 118 townhomes on 11.65 acres at the northeast corner of Oracle Jaynes Station Road and North La Cholla Boulevard.
