Bellevue hasn’t opted out of animal control services from King County, but it hasn’t indicated it will stay either.

The City Council was expected to make a decision Monday on whether to stay with the county, or become a part of a “subregional model” where Bellevue would hire animal control officers that would patrol five other Eastside cities, and Seattle Human Society would handle sheltering. But many of the numbers on cost, and potential changes to the contract with King County remain shaky. The City Council is expected to make its final decision sometime in early May. King County asked all cities to opt in or out by May 1, but Bellevue can continue to work with King County and then pull out over the next month. If a contract is not finalized by June 30, animal control services from the county will cease to operate in the city at the end of the year.

Council members registered a wide range of opinions in the debate. What it came down to were questions of whether opting out of the county model would save the city money, and would it lead to more requests from the public for service.

According to city estimates, the subregional program would save the city more than $60,000 over the three-year life the county contract would span. If extrapolated out, the city could save as much as $500,000 over 10 years. But that doesn’t come without potential complications.

“If you are seeing a truck that says Bellevue animal control, where you didn’t see a King County truck, I don’t know how you can expect anything but a greater request for service,” said City Council Member John Chelminiak.