Charter changes pondered to tap general fund for zoo’s operations

The Honolulu Charter Commission agreed Thursday to study a possible amendment to the Charter that would allow a percentage of general fund revenues to be dedicated to an operations fund exclusively for the troubled Honolulu Zoo.

The commission voted unanimously to create a permitted interaction group, essentially a subcommittee, to look at zoo issues and recommend possible changes to the Charter, the governing document of the City and County of Honolulu. Commission member Guy Fujimori will chair the group.

Council Chairman Ernie Martin made the pitch after the Association of Zoos and Aquariums decided last month to reject reaccreditation for the Waikiki facility.

Martin suggested that the commission consider a proposal asking voters whether they want a special zoo operations fund that would take in 0.75 percent of all general fund revenues collected annually.

Martin told commission members Thursday that lack of a consistent source of funding was a key reason AZA cited for its decision. “I think it would go a long way to have a dedicated source of funding,” Martin said.

He called the situation critical, noting that other ways to generate more funding for the zoo, such as privatization or public-private partnerships, will take time to come to fruition.

Officials with Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration said they support establishing a special fund but prefer the fund take in only 0.5 percent of general fund revenues annually.

Deputy Budget Director Gary Kurokawa said diverting 0.75 percent of general funds amounts to about $9.75 million annually. A 0.5 percent take of general funds would divert about $6.5 million from other sources, he said.

Guy Kaulukukui, director of the Department of Enterprise Services, which oversees the zoo, said that of its $13 million budget, about $5.5 million is coming directly from zoo admissions and related revenue.

“Our suggestion is that this source shouldn’t 100 percent balance the books for us,” Kaulukukui said.

A new business plan factors in all the points cited by the AZA and would include new sponsorships, programs and products, he said.

The AZA also asked for more cooperation between the zoo and the Honolulu Zoo Society, which it wants to see take a large role in fundraising. Kaulukukui said talks area already underway with zoo society leaders for a new cooperative agreement. The current contract ends in September.

Kurokawa urged commission members to consider a dedicated fund based on real property taxes, a smaller amount of funds than the overall general fund. A Clean Water Fund, an Affordable Housing Fund and a Grants in Aid Fund, all of which are tied to a percentage of property taxes collected, cumulatively divert between $16 million and $17 million from the general fund, he said.

The city is currently taking in about $1 billion annually in real property taxes. If a zoo fund were to take a percentage of property taxes, rather than the general fund, each year, it would get about $7.5 million annually under a 0.75 percent scenario, $5 million under a 0.5 percent scheme.