Zoo recently needed levy to stay open, now spends 15.2 million

I think they are 2 different funds. I know that sounds weird but I think one is operating and one is capital.

That may well be.

I'd just prefer to see any organization that needs to ask for money, not spend such a huge amount until they can survive on their own financially.

Depending on where the money came from it might have to remain separate from the money it received from the levy. Grants and endowments might be dedicated to certain things and that money cant be mixed with other monies.

Linecrosser is right some money can only be used for things like care of animals, food, Etc.... and some money can only be used for building new exhibits and up keep of existing exhibits. Actually watched a "Toledo Stories" on PBS the other day and they talked about this exact issue.

Ifrost2125 - I was the in the last scene of that show...getting cotton candy as a kid. No credit though. I spent a lot of time out there as a kid.

Not me. They must know that I consider games of chance to be an extra tax on people who are bad at math.

I was in the last scene - is what i should have typed. As for justread...no clue.

Think he thought the topic was on the casino for some reason.

The zoo has done what is very typical of levy-funded entities - they ask for a capital levy to 'improve the facilities' (or whatever), but then they dont bother to tell voters that once the facilities are improved or expanded, they need more operating funds to maintain what they just spent capital money building.

I was told years ago by a local school board member that a capital levy funded sports facility construction that couldn't be used because they didn't have it in their budget to provide maintenance and operations staff.

This is standard MO for public entities, ask to build bigger/better, and then have to ask for more money to operation and maintain what they just built.

I agree with MrsArcher that this is how levies work - capital and funding and are separate.

On a simple level the church starts a building fund to build, renovate, or whatever. They raise the money and they are pleased. But since they increased the capacity of the building the utilities went up. So a plea is for you to give more to pay these bills.

I personally this the Zoo adds greatly to our community and its quality of life. We are also Friends of the Zoo.

That was you? Gee... Look, I'm real sorry about the bubblegum in the hair. And the bit about telling you I poured monkey pee in your coke? All I can say was that I was young and unsupervised back then. Well, anyway, I am sorry.

I accept your apology madjack.

When it comes to zoos, I'm always glad to see a new "habitat" designed for animal quality-of-life. It costs money to design and build something that will be better for the animals on display. It costs far less to just build more cages.

This is not intended to hijack this thread. The merit of a Metroparks' operations levy is a subject for another separate post topic. Just an example of how it works in funding entities who rely on taxes for their revenue source. The Metroparks has done a good job of aquiring land in the Oak Openings area to preserve as much of the globally rare Oak Savannah habitat as possible. There is said to be a levy this fall to fund operations and maintenance of the newly aquired lands.

This process is not some secret, sneaky way of gouging taxpayers. Just the way the State says the revenue must be aquired and used. The funds cant be comingled. If an entity asks for a levy to aquire land, and the taxpayers say yes, then the money can only be used to aquire land. No switcheroo later.

I do not agree with zoos. They might have had a purpose long ago, but now, to see any animals you can easily go to the internet. Besides, not every animal is a "saved" animal in the zoo. Many are bred in captivity and passed around to other zoos.
I know there is no completely right point of view here, but as human beings we keep destroying natural habitats and then try to justify zoos by saying we are preventing extinction or keeping a dying breed alive. Taking elephants from India and Africa and sticking them in the weather of Toledo isn't doing them any favors. Besides, a winding trail might be cute for humans, but it doesn't compare to acres and acres of open land that they were used to.
No living thing should be caged except criminals.

The metroparks actually help save wildlife, improve our air quality, and give us a nice open place to stretch our legs at no special cost. I vote FOR levys to support the metroparks because they actually do what zoos try and do...but without all the commercial bullshit. The metroparks have no real source of income and provide our community with sooooooo much.

The zoo, I vote against levys on anymore. They should better manage their budget.

I'm not sure I'll ever support a Toledo Zoo levy again. One of my sons worked for them for 10 years. Always did a great job according to his supervisors, and he liked working there. He was still considered "seasonal" even after all that time.
About 1.5 to 2 years ago, he was told by his superiors that a permanent custodial job was going to be opening up. In the mean time they needed someone to do the job on a temporary basis, and they suggested that he volunteer to do it. It meant switching to a different department but he did it.
He did the job for almost a year, and by all accounts they were happy with his work. He never missed any work either. So when the job came up, he had a resume made up and applied for it.
He didn't get the job, it instead went to an older Black man who had retired from some other place, he had never even worked at the zoo. They gave him some ridiculous excuse about wanting someone with experience outside the zoo.
It's a custodial job, cleaning bathrooms and such, what better experience than someone who had done the job for nearly a year?
The man who got the job never even made it past his probationary period before he "injured" his knee and had to go on workmans comp. Even when he came back they had so many problems with him they eventually had to fire him.
So, eventually they put the job back up and excepted resumes again.
My son again applied, and.....you guessed it, he was passed over again, this time for another minority, a Hispanic woman. So much for loyalty.
His friends in management more or less told him the decision was made by Ann Baker, the paper Dr. who makes over $200K a year.
This year when the opportunity came up, he took another job, making more than he had at the zoo. He loved working at the zoo, but you can only take getting crapped on so much.