Some Franklin County residents have joined together to oppose the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's levy request on the May 6 ballot. Citizens for Responsible Taxation filed paperwork yesterday with the Franklin County Board of Elections to become a political-action committee.

Some Franklin County residents have joined together to oppose the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium�s levy request on the May 6 ballot.

Citizens for Responsible Taxation filed paperwork yesterday with the Franklin County Board of Elections to become a political-action committee.

The permanent, 1.25-mill levy would replace a 0.75-mill tax the zoo collects from Franklin County property owners that is expiring at the end of this year.

The levy would pay for a satellite zoo Downtown, updated and expanded exhibits at the main zoo in Delaware County, a new animal hospital, new exhibits and a tram within zoo grounds. It would raise about $32.7 million a year; the current 10-year levy brings in $18.9 million a year.

Dan McCormick of Upper Arlington, who is one of the organizers, said the anti-levy group has 20 to 25 members and has been working since mid-February to gather information.

Zoo officials are �asking to double the tax. That�s a big jump,� McCormick said. The group also opposes building a satellite zoo Downtown at a cost of $50 million to $65 million.

The proposed levy increase is 66 percent. However, because the state no longer pays 12.5 percent of levies for homeowners, the levy would mean that homeowners would pay twice as much as they do now. That would amount to $44 a year per $100,000 of property value; the current zoo levy costs $21 a year.

He said some members of the anti-levy group have worked with him before on tax issues that voters defeated, including a 0.5-mill property tax to support COSI Columbus in March 2004 and a $25 million bond issue for the Upper Arlington Public Library in May 2009.

�All we can do is put information out there and see if it connects with the voters,� he said. The group will �pass the hat� to pay for its campaign, he said.

Phil Pikelny, chairman of the zoo board and an executive at The Dispatch, said the levy campaign is expected to cost $700,000. Of that, $350,000 will come from donations to the Columbus Zoological Society, and the remainder will be raised through donations for the levy, he said.

kgray@dispatch.com

@reporterkathy