DATE: June 16, 2026
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer
Michelle Roman, Zoo Authority Chairman
SUBJECT: Zoo Authority 2024-25 Annual Report
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Receive the Fresno County Zoo Authority 2024-25 Annual Report.
REPORT
The Fresno County Zoo Authority (Authority) is required by its Bylaws to provide an annual report to the Board of Supervisors. The annual report includes an annual audit report of the Measure Z funds. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose to provide direction to the Authority regarding content to add or expand upon in future annual reports.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. Measure Z Funds are held in the Investment Pool of the County Treasury, from which claims associated with Zoo maintenance and operations, capital projects and Authority administrative costs are paid. All County staff costs associated with the administration of Measure Z funds (County Counsel, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector, Zoo Authority Board Coordinator, and outside auditor Brown Armstrong) are funded with the 2% of Measure Z funds set aside for administrative costs. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues for staff administration costs are included within the respective Departments' Adopted Budgets.
DISCUSSION:
The 2024-25 annual report of the Authority covers July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, and includes the annual audit of Measure Z funds from CLA, LLP. The audit was issued with an unmodified or clean opinion.
As of June 30, 2025, $52,223,506 in Measure Z funds were held in trust for Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Corporation (ZooCorp), with $46,062,911 of the total cash reserved for capital projects, and $6,160,595 for operations. In FY 2024-25, $21,563,214 in Measure Z taxes were received in total, and the Authority reimbursed ZooCorp $2,499,336 for capital projects and $7,706,735 for operat...
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