Meet in public, ZAP recipients

Salt Lake County cannot demand that the zoo board and other ZAP tax recipients comply with the state Open and Public Meetings Act as a condition of receiving the tax. Still, these organizations surely understand that by accepting sales tax revenue, there comes unwritten and unspoken obligations to be accountable for public money.

Part of that accountability comes in conducting the respective boards' business in public. The Open and Public Meetings Act provides a workable set of rules that enables public entities to close their meetings to address personnel issues, real estate transactions, litigation and other matters provided for in the statute.

Some top-tier ZAP tax recipients have indicated a willingness to open their board meetings, which is a commendable step. The public has a legitimate interest in these organizations because they are partially supported by tax dollars, and because many of them conduct their performances and functions in venues built with or supported by tax dollars.

Hogle Zoo receives, or will receive, a substantial amount of public money in the form of ZAP tax revenues and the $10.2 million voter-approved Salt Lake City bond that will fund substantial improvements. These are considerable public investments. Hogle Zoo director Craig Dinsmore, at least, has indicated in published reports that the zoo will do whatever necessary to maintain the public's trust, which is very important.

As anyone who attends a great number of public meetings can attest, most board meetings are routine and predictable. Some are even boring. But on the occasion that an issue arises concerning the ZAP tax or other public support of zoo, arts or parks organizations, members of the public have a clear interest in attending those meetings and judging for themselves whether public resources are used well and responsibly. We commend members of the Salt Lake County Council for their leadership in recommending that ZAP tax recipients open their meetings to the public.