Penguins, not numbers: The zoo millage pitch skips the facts voters need most

A photo of gentoo penguins has been making the rounds on Facebook this month under a headline in giant yellow capital letters: a "critical vote" that could decide the future of the Detroit Zoo's 2,000 animals.

The post, from a Facebook page called Michigan Field Guide, is not from the official campaign. But it captures how the case for the Nov. 3 zoo millage renewal is being made: animals first, facts later — if at all.

The Detroit Zoo is a regional treasure, and there may well be a strong case for renewing its tax. Voters deserve to hear that case in dollars and details. So far, they mostly haven't.

What's on the ballot

Voters in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties will each decide on a 10-year levy of 0.1 mill — 10 cents per $1,000 of taxable value — for the Detroit Zoo, running from 2028 through 2037. The tax was first approved in 2008 and renewed in 2016. The current levy runs through 2027.

The Oakland County Clerk's official ballot language estimates the Oakland County share would raise about $8.83 million in its first year.

What the campaign leads with

The official campaign, Renew Your Zoo, runs its pitch on renewyourzoo.org. The home page opens with animal care for more than 2,000 animals from 200 species, naming polar bears, penguins and giraffes, and describing the sense of wonder they inspire in visitors.

Its list of reasons to vote yes is three bullet points: animal care for those same polar bears, penguins and giraffes; field trips for children; and inspiring a future generation of scientists and conservationists.

The campaign's FAQ, asked what the millage does, gives the same three answers. The zoo's chief of staff, Amanda Hanlin, told The Oakland Press the money would keep supporting "high-quality animal care for 2,000 animals."

To be fair, the campaign does offer some numbers: the roughly $10 a year cost for a $200,000 home, a $190 million yearly "net economic impact" across the three counties, and an average of 1.3 million visitors a year. Residents also get a $10 membership discount and free admission for seniors on Senior Day.

But those are the numbers that make the tax look small and the zoo look big. The numbers a taxpayer would use to judge whether the money is well spent are missing.

What the campaign doesn't say

How much the tax raises. Renew Your Zoo's website does not say how much money the three-county millage brings in each year. It does not say what share of the zoo's budget that is.

In 2016, zoo officials were specific: the tax raised a little over $11 million a year, just under a third of a $35 million budget. Since then, the zoo's finances have grown well beyond that. The Detroit Zoological Society reported $64.1 million in revenue and $67.1 million in expenses in 2024, according to its federal tax filing as compiled by ProPublica. Voters are not told how much of today's budget the millage covers.

What the money specifically pays for. In 2016, a zoo spokeswoman described the millage as paying for unglamorous but necessary work: energy-efficiency upgrades, infrastructure, habitat renovations and repaving paths and parking lots. That is a concrete, checkable answer. This year's campaign offers "animal care" and "educational opportunities" instead. The ballot language itself is more specific than the campaign, listing animal care, educational and senior programs, and facility maintenance.

What happens if it fails. The penguin post asks whether the vote "could decide the future" of the animals, then concedes in its own text that there's no report on what would change if the renewal fails. The campaign doesn't say either. Because the current tax runs through 2027, a "no" vote on Nov. 3 would not cut off a dollar of zoo funding next year, and the county zoological authorities could put the question back on a later ballot. Nothing in the public record suggests animals would be at risk.

What "accountability" means. The FAQ says millage dollars are independently audited and tracked on a public website. The campaign does not link to that website or say where to find it.

"Will NOT increase property taxes" — not quite, in Oakland County

The campaign's biggest factual claim is printed in bold on nearly every page: renewing the millage "will NOT increase property taxes."

The ballot language tells a more complicated story.

Because of the Headlee Amendment's required rollbacks, the zoo tax is no longer levied at the full 0.1 mill voters approved. In Oakland County, it is levied at 0.0927 mill. The Nov. 3 question asks voters to renew and restore the tax — renewing the 0.0927 mill and restoring the 0.0073 mill that was rolled back, for a total of 0.1 mill.

That is a rate increase of about 7.9% in Oakland County. In Macomb County, where the rate has been rolled back to 0.0922 mill, it's about 8.5%. In Wayne County, at 0.0982 mill, it's about 1.8%.

In dollars, the change is tiny. On a home with a taxable value of $100,000 — the most a $200,000 home can be taxed on in Michigan — the Oakland County zoo tax would go from about $9.27 a year to $10. Many homeowners pay less, because their taxable value is capped below half their home's market value.

Seventy-three cents is not going to break anyone. But the ballot language says the rate would be "unchanged from those approved by voters in 2008 and 2016," which is true of the rate on paper, not the rate actually being collected. A campaign asking for voters' trust should say plainly that restoring a rollback means a slightly higher bill, and let voters decide whether it's worth it.

Why it matters

Emotional appeals work, and the zoo knows it. In past campaigns it has handed out animal-themed lawn signs, and its polling has found voters feel strongly about the zoo. The millage passed in 2016 with about 74% of the vote in Oakland County.

There's nothing wrong with reminding people that they love the zoo. But a property tax is a 10-year financial commitment, and every other taxing body on the Nov. 3 ballot is expected to explain what it will collect and spend. Oakland County voters face a long list of local tax questions this fall, including school levies that have been through hard, detailed public fights. The zoo should be held to the same standard.

Before Nov. 3, Renew Your Zoo and the Detroit Zoological Society should tell voters:

• how much the three-county millage raises each year and what share of the zoo's budget it covers
• what it paid for over the last 10 years, with a link to the audits
• what the zoo would do if the renewal failed
• that the renew-and-restore question raises the rate actually levied, even if only by pennies

If the case for the zoo is as strong as supporters believe, those facts will only help it.

Sources: Oakland County Clerk, official Nov. 3, 2026, proposal list; Macomb and Wayne county ballot language as published by ClickOnDetroit, Oct. 13 and 15, 2026; renewyourzoo.org home, FAQ and About pages, accessed Oct. 19, 2026; FOX 2 Detroit, Sept. 29, 2026; WCSX/The Oakland Press, Oct. 1, 2026; WDET and Crain's Detroit Business, 2016; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (Detroit Zoological Society Form 990, 2024); Michigan Field Guide Facebook post.