BY ANNE MICHAUD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has tried to learn from the overwhelming failure of its levy last fall.
The levy presented on Tuesday's ballot is much smaller, and the zoo's campaign has been more straightforward.
Last fall, campaign ads promoted the image of the beloved zoo without mentioning that the levy would fund an expensive new parking garage.
This spring, the zoo's education director, Thane Maynard, appears on camera to carefully explain how the money would be spent. In November, the zoo sought to more than double its levy, from $4.9 million per year to $10.3 million annually.
This time, the zoo has reduced its request to $6.2 million, and it has eliminated the parking garage. The money would be used to support zoo operations, to feed and shelter the animals.
The new levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $12.29 a year, compared with $8.54 before the levy failed.
Because of its levy failure, the zoo is now operating without tax dollars for the first time since 1982.
Traditionally, tax dollars have made up one-third of the $15.6 million operating budget.
The slimmer budget has forced the elimination of 30 jobs, and the zoo has borrowed $2.5 million to operate through the end of the year without any visible changes in exhibits.
Visitors may notice only the changed admission prices: $10 for adults (from $8), $5 for children (from $4.75) and $8 for seniors (from $5.75).
Zoo officials say they may restore the old prices in 1999 if the levy passes.
Officials have refused to talk about how the zoo might solve its parking problem. They said they are anxious to keep voters' focus on this levy's paying for animal care.
As the zoo begins to build new exhibits this summer, the lack of parking will become more critical. The zoo is planning five exhibits to be constructed with about $17.5 million from private donations. Several of the new exhibits will eat into zoo parking lots.
The zoo has changed its approach in other ways.
In response to county commissioners' criticism, the zoo is raising private funds to run its tax levy campaign. In the past, it has drawn from an account that mixed tax revenue with other receipts. The campaign had raised $138,000 by the campaign finance reporting deadline last week, much less than the $350,000 of its own money it spent last year.
The zoo has also opened its board meetings to the public. And from May to August, Hamilton County residents will receive a discount during monthly "appreciation days."
If the levy passes, county commissioners plan to negotiate an agreement in which the zoo would report how it spends tax money. Also, commissioners have said they want to see a strategic plan that shows how the zoo will reduce its reliance on tax dollars in coming years.
