San Antonio council members blast ACS for slow improvement after 33% budget hike

San Antonio City Council members on Tuesday leveled criticism at Animal Care Services, saying that while the embattled city department has shown improvement it needs to step up efforts to battle a dangerous stray dog problem. “Right now, I see a lot of hope and planning, but it has to be in practice, and we have yet to see that happening,” District 6 City Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda said at a Tuesday meeting of council's Public Safety Committee, which she chairs. San Antonio City Council last fall gave ACS a 33% annual budget increase as the department struggled to respond to a string of high-profile dog attacks around the city, at least two of which were fatal.