COLUMBUS – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium reportedly plans to ask Franklin County voters for financial support once again.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
The board was expected to vote Wednesday afternoon on a proposed 10-year, 0.75-mill renewal levy for the November ballot.
The current 0.75-mill levy will expire on Dec. 31.
In May 2014, voters overwhelmingly turned down a 1.25-mill levy, the first time a zoo levy had failed.
If the board approves the levy request, it will be presented to the Franklin County commissioners, who have the final say on whether it goes on the ballot. The deadline to place a levy on the Nov. 3 ballot is Aug. 5.
About 25 percent of the zoo’s revenue, including about 15 percent of its operating budget, comes from the levy, said Tom Stalf, the zoo’s president and chief executive officer. Levy money also would be used to renovate older exhibits at the zoo and update equipment.
The failed levy would have generated $32.7 million a year; the current levy brings in $18.9 million a year.