PARIS, Texas — At the end of its Dec. 9 regular meeting, the Paris City Council discussed scheduling a short special meeting and heard concerns about local animal-control funding.

A council member proposed a special meeting for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., which the speaker identified as Dec. 17 during the discussion. The speaker said the meeting should be short; the council did not record a formal vote on the special meeting in the transcript but accepted the proposal as a future action item for scheduling.

Council members also asked staff for background on the city's relationship with the Lamar County Humane Association and its spay-and-neuter program. One council member said the association had previously been granted $10,000 and believed the group typically received $15,000 in prior budgets. City staff replied that they had been meeting with the association and animal-control authorities and that "there's some homework being done" and follow-up meetings were planned. Staff also said that if the council wanted full discussion it should be scheduled as a future agenda item and that the information may be provided to council without a separate agenda item depending on findings.

Council members noted an uptick in loose animals around the city and said they wanted the matter tracked. No additional funding was approved during the Dec. 9 meeting.

The transcript records the discussion and the proposed special meeting time but contains no formal motion or vote to appropriate funds for the humane association.