County commissioners remind Columbus Zoo about tax levy oversight
The Franklin County commissioners have adopted a formal resolution reminding the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium of its obligation to ensure the proper spending of taxpayer-approved levy dollars.
It was a reprimand of sorts, following revelations brought to light in March by The Dispatch about improper use of zoo resources by former Columbus Zoo CEO and President Tom Stalf, former Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell and two other former executives that cost the zoo at least $631,000.
“Given what’s occurred over the last year or so with regard to the zoo, we’re taking every action that we can to ensure that that doesn’t happen again and that we’re protecting our contribution to the levy dollars to the zoo to the best of our abilities,” Commissioner Kevin Boyce told The Dispatch after Tuesday’s meeting. “This allows us to continue to be more deliberate about that oversight.”
Commissioner John O’grady added that “the nonpublic sector appointees to the (zoo) board need to be reminded that, over the last 50 years, nearly $1 billion in taxpayer money has been invested into the zoo… It’s the community’s asset, and we don’t want anybody to forget that.”
Among other issues, The Dispatch investigation revealed that Stalf and Bell for years sought tickets paid by the zoo’s marketing department so their family members could attend various entertainment events for free. Both men also had family members who lived in homes owned or controlled by the zoo and set the rental prices at below market rates, the newspaper reported.
‘Culture of entitlement’ at Columbus Zoo
The findings prompted the zoo’s board of directors to hire an outside accounting firm, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP to conduct a formal audit review of zoo spending and practices. Among other things, the review found Stalf used zoo funds to purchase a recreational vehicle for his exclusive use and took it to Put-in-bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie for a family trip. He also personally selected the vendor for a $2 million cabins construction project at The Wilds, a private, non-profit safari park and conservation center for wild animals near Cumberland in Muskingum County that is managed by the Columbus Zoo, and did not seek competitive bidding.
A separate forensic audit conducted in the months following the executives’ resignations also described “an overall culture of entitlement” among zoo executives. The audit concluded, however, that there was no misuse of the zoo’s levy funds, which accounted for about 20% of the zoo’s overall revenue of nearly $92 million in 2019.
Assistant County Prosecutor Jeanine Hummer said Tuesday that the commissioners have the authority to place the zoo levy before voters. It was last on the ballot during the 2015 general election and passed by a wide margin, with nearly 76% of voters approving the 0.75-mil renewal levy.
According to the Franklin County Auditor’s Office, the levy currently costs property owners about $16 per $100,000 of valuation. Last year, it resulted in nearly $19.8 million in taxes, and this year collections reached nearly $20 million.
Hummer said the levy has generated a total of $113.7 million over the past six years for the zoo. Under existing agreements, the spending of those levy funds require oversight and approval from an 18-member board, with six members appointed each by the county, the city of Columbus and the zoo, she said.
“This is a separate body that has control over these levy funds,” Hummer said. “This resolution sets forth and reaffirms the authority that was put forth in a binding, contractual agreement with the Columbus Zoological (Park) Association, to allow this appointed board to approve any expenditure related to these levy funds. We are here today to make sure the public understands that and to reaffirm what was put forth in that binding agreement.”
Through Tuesday’s resolution, the board of commissioners formally recognized the “historical and ongoing financial assistance to the Columbus Zoological Park Association by the provision of the levy proceeds,” and the commissioners’ expectation “that all levy funds transferred to the association shall annually be expended only after affirmative approval.”
Boyce described the resolution as “financial prudence on our part.”
“We are taking the detailed course of action, ensuring the levy dollars are being appropriated and used in the right way,” he said. “You can expect us to be a little more deliberate with the zoo going forward about the distribution of those funds. They’ve got to earn that confidence, not just with the board of commissioners, but with the public.”
Boyce later added that the commissioners “have a solemn duty to the public to do everything we can to protect those funds and how they’re used and ensure that it doesn’t happen again, at least with levy funds.” mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog