Zoo mired in debt it cannot afford
Posted: 07 May 2009 10:56 AM PDT
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
The San Francisco Zoo has overdue bills that it cannot afford to pay.
The nonprofit San Francisco Zoological Society, which runs the facility, has amassed a $2.4 million tab for utility bills and labor costs in the current fiscal year. Another $400,000 is still outstanding from last fiscal year, according to officials with the Recreation and Park Department, which has paid the overdue bill out of its own budget.
But the zoo said it cannot afford to pay. And that even if it had the $2.4 million The City is demanding, the hefty bill is higher than it should be and the zoo does not owe the full amount.
“I’m fairly sure we won’t be able to make out a check tomorrow,” zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said.
Caring for creatures: The Zoological Society took over the zoo in 1993, but The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year.
Caring for creatures: The Zoological Society took over the zoo in 1993, but The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year.
That $2.4 million is roughly the same amount the zoo receives for membership fees, and it represents about 10 percent of the operating budget.
City officials say the Zoological Society is breaking a contract that has long been the subject of debate, and the Mayor’s Office has become involved in an effort to broker peace between The City and the zoo.
The Zoological Society took over the facility in 1993, and under the agreement, which was renewed last year amid controversy, The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year while the nonprofit manages the zoo.
The Zoological Society is required to pay its own utility bills, and it must pay Rec and Park employees who work at the zoo. After a 2006 state Supreme Court decision that required city departments pay for their own water from the Public Utilities Commission, the Zoological Society was hit with another bill.
But since a Siberian tiger mauled a teenager to death in 2007, the Zoological Society has been dealing with its own financial crisis, LaMarca said.
After the incident, the nonprofit also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in safety improvements and attorney fees. It could be reimbursed for some of that, but the matter has yet to be settled.
“We’ve been in discussions for about nine months to see what money is owed to The City, and whether there actually is [money owed] or not,” LaMarca said.
The recession has also hurt the zoo and attendance has declined, making for a tough budget year in 2008, said Jim Lazarus, vice president of the Recreation and Park Commission, an oversight board that receives monthly status reports from the Zoological Society.
“Attendance and revenues have improved recently, but clearly they’ve got a hole to dig themselves out of,” Lazarus said.
Operating costs
$20.1 million
Zoo’s 2008-09 operating budget
$1,560,000
Amount The City says the zoo owes it
$858,000
Labor costs for city employees who work at the zoo
$400,000
Balance zoo owes The City from fiscal year 2007-08
Sources: San Francisco Zoological Society, Mayor’s Office, Recreation and Park Department
Posted: 07 May 2009 10:56 AM PDT
By: Brent Begin
Examiner Staff Writer
The San Francisco Zoo has overdue bills that it cannot afford to pay.
The nonprofit San Francisco Zoological Society, which runs the facility, has amassed a $2.4 million tab for utility bills and labor costs in the current fiscal year. Another $400,000 is still outstanding from last fiscal year, according to officials with the Recreation and Park Department, which has paid the overdue bill out of its own budget.
But the zoo said it cannot afford to pay. And that even if it had the $2.4 million The City is demanding, the hefty bill is higher than it should be and the zoo does not owe the full amount.
“I’m fairly sure we won’t be able to make out a check tomorrow,” zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said.
Caring for creatures: The Zoological Society took over the zoo in 1993, but The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year.
Caring for creatures: The Zoological Society took over the zoo in 1993, but The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year.
That $2.4 million is roughly the same amount the zoo receives for membership fees, and it represents about 10 percent of the operating budget.
City officials say the Zoological Society is breaking a contract that has long been the subject of debate, and the Mayor’s Office has become involved in an effort to broker peace between The City and the zoo.
The Zoological Society took over the facility in 1993, and under the agreement, which was renewed last year amid controversy, The City maintains ownership of the animals and the property at a cost of $4 million a year while the nonprofit manages the zoo.
The Zoological Society is required to pay its own utility bills, and it must pay Rec and Park employees who work at the zoo. After a 2006 state Supreme Court decision that required city departments pay for their own water from the Public Utilities Commission, the Zoological Society was hit with another bill.
But since a Siberian tiger mauled a teenager to death in 2007, the Zoological Society has been dealing with its own financial crisis, LaMarca said.
After the incident, the nonprofit also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in safety improvements and attorney fees. It could be reimbursed for some of that, but the matter has yet to be settled.
“We’ve been in discussions for about nine months to see what money is owed to The City, and whether there actually is [money owed] or not,” LaMarca said.
The recession has also hurt the zoo and attendance has declined, making for a tough budget year in 2008, said Jim Lazarus, vice president of the Recreation and Park Commission, an oversight board that receives monthly status reports from the Zoological Society.
“Attendance and revenues have improved recently, but clearly they’ve got a hole to dig themselves out of,” Lazarus said.
Operating costs
$20.1 million
Zoo’s 2008-09 operating budget
$1,560,000
Amount The City says the zoo owes it
$858,000
Labor costs for city employees who work at the zoo
$400,000
Balance zoo owes The City from fiscal year 2007-08
Sources: San Francisco Zoological Society, Mayor’s Office, Recreation and Park Department
