Voters in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties will decide next Tuesday whether to keep the Detroit Zoo's property tax rolling for another decade. The ask is a renewal, not a hike, and zoo leaders say the money is a big piece of what keeps the Royal Oak gates open as the zoo heads toward its 100th birthday.
The vote is set for Nov. 3, according to the Detroit Free Press, which reports the 0.10-mill tax would run for 10 years. The levy was first approved in 2008 and renewed again in 2016. For the owner of a $200,000 home, the cost would be about $10 per year.
The zoo's own Maureen Feighan-bylined coverage in The Detroit News frames the campaign as the zoo asking voters to renew its millage, and highlights attractions such as the Polk Penguin Conservation Center and the Erb Discovery Trails.
A Renewal, Not an Increase
Per FOX 2 Detroit, the proposal stays at 0.1 mill for 10 years and is “a renewal, not an increase.” The station also notes that over the past 25 years the zoo has hosted an average of 1.3 million guests annually.
If voters approve it in all three counties, the tax would be levied from 2028 through 2037. The Free Press reports it would bring in $18,821,900 in its first year. That breaks down to $8,831,012 from Oakland, $6,145,462 from Wayne and $3,845,426 from Macomb.
Why the Zoo Says It Matters
The millage is no rounding error for the zoo's finances. A Detroit Zoological Society representative told MLive, “Over 30% of our operating budget is that millage.”
According to CBS Detroit, the money supports operations at the zoo and the Belle Isle Nature Center. The zoo cares for more than 2,000 animals from more than 200 species, and more than 1.3 million people visit each year.
Zoo officials estimate the combined yearly net economic impact in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties at $190 million, The Oakland Press reported in September. That figure is the zoo's own estimate.
New Arrivals and a Big Anniversary
MLive notes the zoo opened its long-awaited 7-acre Erb Discovery Trails in May. It also recently welcomed three lion cubs and just the second gorilla infant born in the zoo's nearly 100-year history.
That centennial is close. A zoo official told Planet Detroit, “We're going to be 100 years old in 2028,” the same year the renewed levy would begin.
How It Got on the Ballot
Under Michigan's Act 49 of 2008, zoological authorities can be established and can levy a property tax. In Oakland County, the Legislative Affairs & Government Operations Committee considered a resolution letting the county's zoological authority place the renewal question on the ballot and recommended it by a unanimous 6-0 vote.
Wayne County's portion is administered by the Wayne County Zoological Authority, which says the tri-county tax was first approved by voters in 2008 and renewed in 2016.
