OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing: Detroit Zoological Society - March 11, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, March 11, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, March 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:04:14

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

Committee for today, Wednesday, March 11th, 2026.

0:12

Madam Clerk, good afternoon.

0:13

Will you please call the roll?

0:15

Good afternoon.

0:16

Councilmember Scott Benson.

0:19

Councilmember Letitia Johnson.

0:22

Councilmember Denzel Antama Campbell.

0:25

Councilmember Renata Miller.

0:27

Here.

0:28

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:30

Present.

0:31

Council Member Mary Waters.

0:32

President.

0:33

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Cathaway.

0:37

House President Pro Tem Call Me Young the Second.

0:40

Here.

0:41

Council President James Tate.

0:42

Mr.

0:43

President, you have a quorum present.

0:44

Thank you, ma'am.

0:45

We have a quorum, which means we're now in session.

0:47

And one of my favorite budget hearings is coming up next, and that is zoological society.

0:52

Come on down.

0:58

I've been a proud member of the board since uh being uh elected to city council, and it has been very rewarding.

1:05

I've got an opportunity to see some of the sneak peeks before the rest of the world, um, but also had an opportunity to work side by side with dedicated individuals, volunteers who have done a tremendous job and through the transition of directors as well.

1:20

Um, phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal job, uh Dr.

1:23

Peeley.

1:24

So thank you all for being here, and we will give you an opportunity to begin your budget presentation.

1:30

The floor is yours, ma'am.

1:32

Okay, well, thank you so much.

1:34

Um we really appreciate the opportunity to come before you and um for Mayor Sheffield and the city council's ongoing support.

1:41

It's just a pleasure to be here.

1:43

Um I wanted to start out by going through next slide, please.

1:48

Great.

1:49

Um a little review of what we did in 2025.

1:52

Our total attendance was 1.14 million people.

1:55

Um that's over 42,000 member households, and we had more than 167 million dollars in economic impact last year.

2:04

We saw guests from every county in Michigan and every state in the United States.

2:08

So we're really proud to be such an economic driver, but also a place where our community connects.

2:15

Um next slide, please.

2:18

In 2025, great.

2:20

Our revenues, we did a uh balanced budget, so our revenues came in at a little over 54 million dollars.

2:26

And you can see that pie chart there.

2:28

We broke it out for you.

2:29

Earned revenue continues to be very strong with 50% of our operating budget coming through earned revenue, and that's things like our gate events, um, rentals, things like that.

2:40

Our public support contributed 36% of our operating budget, and that's our tri county tax millage.

2:46

Um, 13% came from our fundraising in our development department through philanthropy and grants, and then other revenue was 2%.

2:54

That's things like interest earned.

2:57

If you can go to the next slide.

3:00

Our expenses um we're uh again a balanced budget at 54 million dollars.

3:05

80 percent of that um goes towards mission, uh, our operating budget.

3:10

So things like our life sciences, animal care, veterinary department, facilities, landscaping, our educational programming, and then our capital projects.

3:19

4% goes to support our fundraising efforts, so our development efforts and philanthropy, four percent for marketing and advertising.

3:26

Thank goodness for social media makes it affordable nowadays, and then 12% for all of our administrative costs, and that includes our information technology, which if you've been to the zoo lately, you see that we are heavily engaged in IT um for our guest experience.

3:44

Go ahead.

3:46

Our animals, of course.

3:47

I need to talk about that.

3:48

I hope that's your favorite part of the talk today.

3:51

Um, we have over 2,000 animals at the zoo representing 258 species.

3:56

We're heavily involved in species conservation and animal welfare.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████37%
Parks and Recreation████████████████████████████28%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Budget████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Accessibility█████5%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Animal Welfare██2%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing: Detroit Zoological Society - March 11, 2026

The Detroit City Council held a budget hearing on March 11, 2026, for the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS). Zoo officials presented their 2025 accomplishments and 2026 budget requests, including continued support for security and insurance ($2.75 million), an additional $500,000 for a coyote habitat at the Belle Isle Nature Center, and an additional $50,000 for the senior program. Council members discussed attendance trends, equity concerns, and fundraising alternatives. Several motions were made and approved.

Discussion Items

  • 2025 Performance Overview: DZS reported 1.14 million visitors, 42,000+ member households, and $167 million in economic impact. Revenues and expenses both balanced at $54 million. Earned revenue (50%) and the tri-county millage (36%) are primary funding sources. The zoo houses 2,000 animals of 258 species, with new births including lion cubs, a chimpanzee, and tortoises. The Fred and Barber Herb Discovery Trails (7 acres, no extra fee) opened spring 2026. Education programs reached over 166,000 interactions, including partnerships with Detroit Public Schools Community District.

  • Senior Program: The city-funded senior program (year 2) provided trips for 327 seniors from 35 Detroit locations. Each district receives up to 50 seniors per trip, two trips per year, with ADA buses, food, and complimentary zoo access. The zoo requests an additional $50,000 due to higher staffing costs.

  • Belle Isle Nature Center Coyote Habitat: DZS plans to convert a former fallow deer enclosure into a habitat for two non-releasable coyotes to educate the public about urban wildlife. The $500,000 request drew concerns from council members about cost and city funding burden. Council Member Callaway suggested a fundraising campaign instead.

  • Attendance Decline: Attendance declined 5% from pre-year and 7% from budget, attributed to highway construction and weather. The zoo sees visitors from all 50 states and every Michigan county.

  • Infrastructure and Sustainability: The zoo is implementing a long-term infrastructure plan using a $500,000 city grant from the prior year. A new coyote habitat and green initiatives were discussed.

  • Millage Renewal: The tri-county millage expires at the end of 2027. DZS is seeking a strict renewal (no increase) on either the August or November 2026 ballot. Council Member Benson motioned to prepare a resolution supporting the millage.

  • Council Concerns: Council members raised issues about the proportion of Detroit residents using the zoo, the need for larger "Detroit" signage on the water tower, language accessibility beyond English, and the burden on city taxpayers for a regional asset.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Motions:

    1. The $50,000 request for the senior program was moved to executive session (approved without objection).
    2. The $500,000 request for the coyote habitat was moved to executive session (approved without objection).
    3. A motion to prepare a resolution supporting the millage renewal for the Detroit Zoological Society (for August or November ballot) was approved.
    4. A motion to include in the closing resolution an item to increase the font size of "Detroit" on the zoo's water tower was approved.

  • Next Steps: The zoo will continue to work with county officials on millage timing. Council members expect follow-up information on Detroit-specific attendance data and potential fundraising alternatives for the coyote habitat.

Note: No separate public comments were heard during this session.

Meeting Transcript

Committee for today, Wednesday, March 11th, 2026. Madam Clerk, good afternoon. Will you please call the roll? Good afternoon. Councilmember Scott Benson. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. Councilmember Denzel Antama Campbell. Councilmember Renata Miller. Here. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Present. Council Member Mary Waters. President. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Cathaway. House President Pro Tem Call Me Young the Second. Here. Council President James Tate. Mr. President, you have a quorum present. Thank you, ma'am. We have a quorum, which means we're now in session. And one of my favorite budget hearings is coming up next, and that is zoological society. Come on down. I've been a proud member of the board since uh being uh elected to city council, and it has been very rewarding. I've got an opportunity to see some of the sneak peeks before the rest of the world, um, but also had an opportunity to work side by side with dedicated individuals, volunteers who have done a tremendous job and through the transition of directors as well. Um, phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal job, uh Dr. Peeley. So thank you all for being here, and we will give you an opportunity to begin your budget presentation. The floor is yours, ma'am. Okay, well, thank you so much. Um we really appreciate the opportunity to come before you and um for Mayor Sheffield and the city council's ongoing support. It's just a pleasure to be here. Um I wanted to start out by going through next slide, please. Great. Um a little review of what we did in 2025. Our total attendance was 1.14 million people. Um that's over 42,000 member households, and we had more than 167 million dollars in economic impact last year. We saw guests from every county in Michigan and every state in the United States. So we're really proud to be such an economic driver, but also a place where our community connects. Um next slide, please. In 2025, great. Our revenues, we did a uh balanced budget, so our revenues came in at a little over 54 million dollars. And you can see that pie chart there. We broke it out for you. Earned revenue continues to be very strong with 50% of our operating budget coming through earned revenue, and that's things like our gate events, um, rentals, things like that. Our public support contributed 36% of our operating budget, and that's our tri county tax millage. Um, 13% came from our fundraising in our development department through philanthropy and grants, and then other revenue was 2%. That's things like interest earned. If you can go to the next slide. Our expenses um we're uh again a balanced budget at 54 million dollars.

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