City auditor slams Honolulu Zoo

Despite the city’s efforts to regain accreditation for the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki attraction continues to be plagued by an ineffective and ill-defined relationship with the Honolulu Zoological Society, as well as operational deficiencies and staff shortages that have led to unnecessary overtime costs, according to a report released by the city auditor this month.

The city auditor conducted a performance audit after the 42.5-acre Waikiki zoo lost accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in March 2016. The AZA cited the zoo’s lack of sustained leadership and inconsistent financial support as the key reasons for the loss of accreditation.

In response to the audit, city officials said while they agreed with most of the conclusions and recommendations of the audit, much of them are outdated and have already been addressed. Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the audit mostly confirmed the issues that were raised by the AZA.

Honolulu Zoo Society Executive Director Marlee Breese said her group, established decades ago to support the zoo, maintains a solid and cooperative relationship with Honolulu Zoo leaders.

The Zoo Society manages the fundraising, membership, volunteer services and some educational programs for the zoo, according to the honoluluzoo.org website. The City and County of Honolulu manages the animals, the grounds and visitor serv­ices, the website says.

The audit was released a month before members of the AZA Accreditation Commission are scheduled to arrive in Honolulu to assess the zoo and make a recommendation that would be given at organization’s midyear conference in April.

Audit findings

Auditors discovered that while the Honolulu Zoo Society, a nonprofit, reported $854,488 in contributions to the zoo in fiscal years 2015 through 2017, the zoo submitted resolutions to the Council during the same period showing only $196,145 in gifts collected, a difference of $658,343.

City officials later explained that cash donations and in-lieu contributions are accounted for differently, with the latter not submitted in the form of resolutions seeking approval from the Council.

The city Department of Enterprise Services, the zoo’s parent agency, “did not have proper internal controls to monitor or verify the total annual gross sales proceeds and net revenue membership fees or dues from the Honolulu Zoological Society,” the audit said.

Zoo association officials, in denying reaccreditation, emphasized the need for the society to increase fundraising, and the audit concurred.

“The AZA expressed concern that a number of the society’s obligations and responsibilities in the cooperative agreement should be the responsibility of the zoo and not the society,” the audit said. “The zoo does not appear to be receiving what it most needs from the society, which is increased fundraising.”

In general, the relationship between the zoo and the society “remains muddled,” the audit said. “The AZA found that there were no clear lines of authority and responsibility” between the zoo staff, Enterprise Serv­ices and zoo leadership and the society, “resulting in a strained relationship,” the report said.

Breese, the society’s executive director, said boosting fundraising is an area her organization is working on. Most recently, the society provided the funding for three cheetah cubs to be brought to Honolulu. “We would love to be raising more money, and we look forward to continuing our fundraising,” she said. “Is there room for more money in the system? Of course, there always is.”

She noted that strict rules governing Kapiolani Park, which the zoo is part of, provides challenges for the society to raise funds.

City Managing Director Roy Amemiya said the society’s mission statement was “changed 180 degrees” to put much more emphasis on fundraising.

Breese said she could not explain the discrepancy in contribution records because it involves a period prior to her becoming executive director in May 2018. Current zoo administration also noted that it was also undergoing its own turnover in leadership. Current Zoo Director Linda Santos was appointed in September 2017 after a string of resignations.

Breese said she has a very good relationship with Santos and that they meet at least once weekly.

Breese makes no apologies for the work the society has done on programs. The AZA requires the zoo to have a robust education program that focuses on conservation, and “that is a huge chunk of what we do for the zoo,” she said.

High overtime costs

The report also said that nonholiday overtime pay at the zoo leaped to $250,000 in fiscal year 2017 from $88,300 in 2015. “We found that sustaining staff and staffing levels at the zoo continues to be an issue for zoo operations,” the audit said.

The city increased the number of full-time positions by 11 positions between 2015 and 2018, and there is now a total position count of 83. “Although gains were made in (full-time positions) filled, the vacancy rate did not significantly improve,” the audit said.

Because the live animals at the zoo require 24-hour staffing, “when staff call in sick or if the zoo is short-staffed, current staff must shuffle and take on extra responsibilities to perform necessary jobs,” the audit said.

Additionally, the audit reiterated the AZA’s point that the zoo does not have formal maintenance or capital improvement plans as recommended by best practices.

“We found that maintenance operations are open to staff interpretation and done haphazardly with deferred maintenance costs increasing and areas of the zoo not maintained properly,” the audit said.

Caldwell said most of the audit’s findings are “a snapshot taken about two years ago after the zoo lost its accreditation.”

The zoo is on its way toward accreditation and has addressed the key issues AZA officials raised when they denied accreditation, he said.

After the zoo went through a string of six directors during an eight-year stretch, veteran zoo employee Santos steadied the ship and has done a good job catching up on deferred maintenance projects in advance of its Sept. 1 application for accreditation, the mayor said.

“The zoo is a much different place than it was when this audit was conducted,” Caldwell said. “The zoo is in the best shape it’s been in for many years.”

Voters in November 2016 approved an amendment to the Honolulu City Charter that requires 0.5% of annual estimated property tax revenues be placed into an account dedicated to the zoo, which helped meet the AZA’s call for a more consistent source of funding, he said.

Volunteer organizations have been showing up to do repair and maintenance work as well, he said.