At Wednesday morning's Delaware County Council meeting, the council agreed to continue paying the Animal Protection Board $30,000 a month until Dec. 31, 2012, when they will then consider the possibility of a five-year contract, said Vice Chairman Mario J. Civera. 

The Animal Protection Board, established last July to oversee a new animal control facility to be built in Darby Township, consists of first- and second-class township respresentatives, a police representative and a union representative. 

State law makes the handling of stray animals the responsibility of both the state and municipalities.  

The facility was projected to be completed by May or June at a cost of $1.2 million, but when the estimated cost jumped to over $2 million, the county stopped the project.

The 7,500-square-foot Municipal Animal Shelter would have held approximately 55 dogs and 128 cats, according to philly.com.

Since January 2012, the Delaware County SPCA stopped accepting stray animals, at which time the Animal Protection Board reached an agreement with the Chester County SPCA.

Under the agreement, the Delco-funded board pays Chester County's SPCA $30,000 for the sheltering of up to 120 stray animals per month; any additional animals cost $250 each. 

Delco has brought 552 animals to Chester County's shelter since Jan. 1, a June 15 Delaware County Times article reported.

County officials still seek a long-term solution to the growing crisis.