DATE: June 24, 2025
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer
Michelle Roman, Zoo Authority Chairman
SUBJECT: Zoo Authority 2023-24 Annual Report
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Receive the Fresno County Zoo Authority 2023-24 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 2023-24 annual report of the Authority covers July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, and includes the annual audit of Measure Z funds from CLA, LLP, received by the Authority during the May 28, 2025 board meeting. The audit was issued with an unmodified or clean opinion.
As of June 30, 2024, $39,552,919 in Measure Z funds were held in trust for Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Corporation (ZooCorp), with $33,088,292 of the total cash reserved for capital projects, and $6,464,627 for operations. In FY 2023-24, $21,402,602 in Measure Z taxes were received in total, and the Authority reimbursed ...
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