State lawmakers waded into a fight between the Columbus Zoo and Liberty Township by cutting off Ohio townships’ power to impose fees on local entertainment venues.
The last-minute change added to a massive spending bill would prevent Liberty Township from collecting a 75-cent fee on the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium tickets to fund fire and emergency services. The fee is the subject of an ongoing legal battle, and judges have sided with the township so far.
“The township is deeply disappointed that this was added at the last minute behind closed doors. It has really nothing to do with the rest of that bill,” said Cathy Buehrer, the administrator of Liberty Township.
The ban on township fees would also affect Anderson Township, which charges a $1 fee on Riverbend Music Center tickets. But that impact would be mitigated by the construction of Farmer Music Center, also known as “Riverbend 2.0,” in the city of Cincinnati, making it not subject to Anderson Township’s fee.
“We’re going to be losing the vast majority of the events as it is,” said Tom Hodges, an Anderson Township trustee.
The Ohio Township Association and Liberty Township are asking Gov. Mike DeWine to veto the bill and restore the revenue source to fund emergency services. Townships are already limited in what they can charge residents.
“We don’t have an income tax. We don’t collect sales tax. The townships are essentially providing safety service calls and runs for free to these venues,” said Kyle Brooks, executive director of the Ohio Township Association.
Lawmakers ax townships’ event fee
State lawmakers first approved the fee option in 2025. Then-state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, helped negotiate a way for Anderson Township to pay for emergency services it provided to Riverbend.
The “protect and serve charge” was limited to event venues with a capacity of at least 2,000 that don’t pay property taxes. County fairgrounds and events with a ticket price of $10 or less were exempt.
Despite those limits, some Ohio senators worried more townships would impose fees, so they ended the option with an amendment to House Bill 479. Two Republican lawmakers, Sens. Andrew Brenner and Bill Blessing, pushed back against cutting off the funding stream.
“Townships, generally speaking, have little ability outside of property taxes to raise revenue,” said Blessing, R-Colerain Township.
Brenner, whose district includes Liberty Township and the Columbus Zoo, supports the fee and Liberty Township’s use of it. “If it’s used reasonably to cover the cost of services, it’s appropriate,” he said.
But Seitz said he tailored the fee to help Anderson Township only. “It was not a blanket ability for everyone to do it.”
Columbus Zoo wanted an exemption from the fee
While the last-minute addition was a surprise, the Columbus Zoo has been trying to evade this fee for a while, Brooks said.
Zoo representatives met with members of the Ohio Township Association months earlier to seek an exemption because it serves as an educational resource focused on animal conservation, Brooks said. They didn’t want to cut off fees for Anderson Township by eliminating the option entirely, he added. But those negotiations went nowhere.
“Nobody reached out to us that it was going to go into (House Bill) 479 until the day of,” Brooks said.
Buehrer said that the zoo is a “great attraction in this area,” but the zoo generates tens of millions in revenue – nearly $89 million in 2024, according to tax filings – without paying any property taxes that fund emergency services.
“The reality is that the smallest number of people using the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium will be people from Liberty Township. It’s visitors coming in,” Buehrer said. “Our residents are funding their fire and EMS service, which they need, so they should pay for it.”
Nicolle Gómez Racey, a spokesperson for the zoo, declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio lawmakers block township fee on Columbus Zoo tickets
Reporting by Jessie Balmert and Anna Lynn Winfrey, Cincinnati Enquirer / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jessie Balmert and Anna Lynn Winfrey, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
