PAWS of Tinley Park soon could be earning a little extra cash for the help it lends the village’s animal control program.

Animals picked up by Tinley Park’s animal control officer are taken to the PAWS facility where they are held and cared for until they are picked up by their owners. While they’re there, volunteers feed, groom and sometimes provide medical care for the animals.

“They do a lot for us,” said Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro.

The village has traditionally made an annual contribution of $8,000 a year to PAWS for its care of impounded animals. At the same time, the village has kept the impound and daily care fees charged to animal owners. The impound fee is $25, plus $11 a day for each additional day the animals are held, Vaccaro said.

PAWS officials approached the village last year to ask for an increase in compensation for its services, Vaccaro said. Without the assistance of PAWS, the village would have to take impounded animals to the Chicago Ridge Animal Welfare League at an estimated cost of $17,000 a year.

“We’d have to go to another animal care facility and Chicago Ridge is the closest,” he said.

The village’s Public Safety Committee agreed Tuesday to begin giving the impound and care fees collected from owners by the village to PAWS on a monthly basis. The annual average is expected to be about $8,600. In addition to the annual flat compensation agreement of $8,000, PAWS is expected to collect about $16,600 a year for its services to the village’s animal control unit.

No PAWS representatives attended the village meeting Tuesday, but Vaccaro said the group has given its approval of the revised agreement.

“It’s still a favorable deal for the village,” said Brian Maher, trustee and chair of the Public Safety Committee. “If we were to lose PAWS and have to use Chicago Ridge, it would be more costly.”

The measure still has to be approved by the full Village Board.