The Columbus Action Network ("CAN") urges Franklin County residents to vote "against" Issue 6, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's proposed 1.5 mill continuing property tax levy.
Issue 6 proposes to more than double the Franklin County property tax dollars directed toward the Zoo, and to make the levy permanent, where in the past levies had to be renewed every ten years.
The CAN opposes this request for several reasons:
1) Any publicly funded entity seeking to double its public funding should have its proposal looked on with great skepticism, and such is the case here with the zoo's 110% proposed increase. We see no compelling reason for a doubling of the zoo's property tax collected from Franklin County residents. Quite simply, a zoo is not an essential element of the county, and our essential levy-funded human services to our most vulnerable residents - public schools, public transit, child protective services, mental health, addiction services, developmental disability services, and senior services - are a far higher priority for scarce taxpayer dollars than is the Zoo.