ZAP program follows all rules, audit finds

You won't find any skeletons in the closet of Salt Lake County's Zoo Arts and Parks program.

A new audit found that the program, which provides funding for zoological, cultural and arts organizations, follows all the rules.

"The county's ZAP program is in compliance with pertinent regulations and procedures set forth in state statute and county policies and reached no findings to the contrary," said Jim Wightman, director of the county's audit division.

"The positive results of this audit are an example of Mayor Peter Corroon's open, honest, fiscally responsible government in action," said Erin Litvack, director of the department of community services. "The taxpayers can rest assured that the Zoo, Arts and Parks program is administered fairly, equitably with strong, thorough fiscal oversight."

The program started in 1997 after voters approved a sales tax to help out groups like the Hogle Zoo, Ballet West, Hale Center Theatre and This Is the Place Heritage Park. Smaller groups like Wasatch Community Gardens, the Kearns Arts Council and Friends of Gilgal Garden also heavily rely on ZAP funding to get by.

Voter approval of the ZAP program has only increased since they first approved the tax in 1996, according to the audit. Back then, 58 percent of county voters approved the ZAP tax, and when voters had to reauthorize the tax in 2004, that jumped to 71 percent.

ZAP revenues have increased by 57.7 percent over the years, but cloudy financial conditions in 2008 will likely cause a decrease in 2008, according to the audit. In total, auditors expect ZAP revenues to drop by $2 million in 2008. That spells a 10 percent decrease in revenue available to give out to the zoological, cultural and arts organizations.

In order to receive ZAP funding, groups must file an application, including financial statements. Auditors reviewed 235 past applications and found that all of them met county policy. The policy states applications must be on time and include how the group intends to spend the ZAP funds, among other things.

From there, advisory boards sift through applications and make recommendations. "The advisory board members play an important role in ensuring these funds are wisely and appropriately distributed," Wightman said.

Each board member must file a conflict of interest statement. The audit found that all board members had statements on file.

Not everything was peachy in the ZAP program. The audit did find that the timetable for distributing ZAP funds "was confusing and not conducive to planning needs of recipient organizations."

Some groups have to wait until the year after the funding application was approved to actually receive funding. This is caused by the typical two or three month lag from the time the state collects the taxes and distributes them to the county. Taxes collected toward the end of the year don't make it into county coffers until the following year.

To fix the problem, auditors recommended the county set a new application period that will establish ZAP funding approval prior to the year in which funds are distributed.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com