City Could End Its Operation Of Zoo, Convention Center, Animal Shelters

lazoo.org

In its quest to stand up to a looming, $400 million budget deficit, the city will have to look seriously at the possibility of giving up its operation of the Zoo, the Convention Center and its animal shelters.

The Los Angeles Daily News on Monday reports that giving up day-to-day control of the institutions has to be on the table if the city is going to take a serious jab at the deficit. "We have to look at what the core mission of the city is," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the paper. "Is it a Zoo? Is it a Convention Center? Those are questions the City Council will have to answer."

Santana says public-private partnerships could help take the costly operations off the city's hands. For example, he said, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association could easily take over the Zoo, L.A. Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, could manage the Convention Center, and the ASPCA could run the shelters.

[Spotted at LAist].