By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Tucson voters will decide Proposition 422, which would reauthorize the existing 0.1% sales tax for Reid Park Zoo. The tax equals 1 cent on every $10 spent and is expected to generate $15 to $17 million a year from January 2028 through December 2047.
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What tax would fund
The would fund capital improvements, operations and maintenance at the zoo. If passed, it continues the 10-year measure voters approved in 2017 through Propositions 202 and 203.
Those dollars expanded the flamingo habitat, hired two full-time veterinarians and two vet techs, and funded free field trips for K-12 students. They also support the University of Arizona’s veterinary school partnership through the zoo’s teaching hospital, and the Pathway to Asia exhibit opening this fall.
Zoo leaders say the funding accounts for nearly a third of day-to-day operating costs and would contribute to the next phase of building. The plan includes expanding habitats for lions, giraffes, and rhinos and adding new animals like pygmy hippos, meerkats, and warthogs.
“It’s really to provide the best care for the animals that we’re charged with protecting,” said Nancy Kluge, Reid Park Zoological Society president and CEO.
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Supporters say the funding will keep the zoo affordable, touting programs that offer discounts to Tucsonans participating in the Arizona SNAP (food stamps) and WIC nutrition assistance programs.
“We want to make sure Reid Park Zoo can stay affordable,” Kluge said. “We know about 42% of Tucsonans visited the Zoo in the past year, and we want to make sure that opportunity continues to be available.”
Opposition cites accountability
Save the Heart of Reid Park fought the zoo’s 2021 attempt to expand to Reid Park’s Barnum Hill and South Duck Pond after Prop 203. The group posted a statement on Oct. 9 saying a 20-year extension lacks accountability, with no guarantee against another expansion outside the zoo’s footprint.
The group did not respond to an interview request, but wrote in part:
“This is about accountability, not opposition to the Zoo. Tucson can value the Reid Park Zoo while still demanding accountability for the use of public funds. The question is not whether the Zoo deserves investment. The question is whether the Zoo is capable of putting its responsibility to taxpayers ahead of its own interests.”
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You can read the full statement here.
Proposition 422 will only appear on the ballot for city of Tucson residents.
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