Legal battle continues between El Paso Zoological Society and City, complaints filed

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story stated that the City of El Paso and the Zoological Society are respectively taking legal action against each other. A city spokesperson has clarified to ABC-7 that the city does not consider the two complaints, and one claim, it filed against the Society as legal actions.

ABC-7 also incorrectly reported in several newscasts that the city filed a lawsuit against the Zoological Society. The Society is the only entity to have filed a lawsuit regarding this situation up to this morning. We apologize for these errors.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The City of El Paso has filed two complaints, and a claim, against the El Paso Zoological Society. The Society has filed a lawsuit against the city -- all tied to allegations surrounding funding for the El Paso Zoo.

This comes after tensions between the two entities prompted the city to close out a license agreement from over a decade ago.

The first actions taken Tuesday were by the city, which announced it has filed two complaints and a claim against the Society.

The city claims the Society continued to use funds for purposes other than supporting the Zoo and Botanical Garden. The license agreement dates back to 2012.

The city said they tried to speak about changes in details for two years, but an agreement could not be reached. In February, the city voted to close out its agreement with the Society.

The city is holding a news conference to address the situation at 3 PM Tuesday. You can watch that news conference below.

The city alleges the Society "refused to provide" financial information, and details about what funds were available.

On May 19, ABC-7 reported The El Paso Zoological Society maintained it did not have to turn over its remaining funds to the City.

“The agreement states that all the funds must be 'spent/used by the Society' for the purposes for which they were raised,” Zoo Society Board President Pam Agullo said in an email, dated May 19, after ABC-7 repeatedly asked questions about the membership money. “There is nothing in the agreement that says that any of the funds must be transferred to the City. Neither 25 nor 75%. The City is ignoring the language of the agreement. Even when the agreement was in place, the Society never gave/transferred funds to the City to be used without any checks or balances. Instead, the Zoo director submitted reimbursement requests and the Society reviewed those and approved or disapproved them. The amount of funds is really not the issue.”

However, the next day, the Society accepted the city's offer to conduct a "mutual audit" of both the entities finances. The city had previously stated it would be willing to do a comprehensive financial audit. Hours before the society accepted the "mutual audit" offer, city council directed staff to "pursue other fundraising" and to follow "recommendations."

Now, the city has filed a complaint regarding the Society with the Texas Attorney General -- specifically the charitable trust division -- about possible mismanagement.

The city had also filed a tax-exempt organization complaint with the IRS, as well as a complaint with the Zoological Society's insurance carrier.

Mayor Oscar Leeser sent a statement to ABC-7, which said:

"Despite our extensive efforts to reach a resolution with the Zoological Society, we have been left with no choice but to take these actions to ensure that the funds meant for the betterment of the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens are properly managed and utilized. Our priority is, and always will be, the welfare of our community, our animals and the integrity of our public institutions."

Tuesday, the Zoological Society announced it is now filing a suit against the City of El Paso.

In their release, the Zoological Society said it was seeking declaratory judgement and other relief regarding the non-renewal of the agreement.

The Society says the termination ended a 60-plus year partnership, and that it is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the local zoo and has raised millions for projects at the zoo. "Despite a longstanding and productive relationship, recent years have seen increased tensions after the appointment of a new Zoo Director in 2019. The Society cites unprofessional behavior and questionable expense requests as key issues. In December 2022, after the Society voiced these concerns, the City attempted to unilaterally force the Society to enter into a new agreement, which would reduce the Society’s role to merely fundraising."

The statement continues, saying, "This led to a toxic work environment and an eventual decision by the City, in a closed-door meeting, to allow the current agreement to expire without having a new one
in place, and to demand that the Society turn over all of its funds to the City’s General Fund. For the past two months, the Society has tried to work out a deal with the City that would allow the Society to donate its funds to be used for the Zoo or find another solution."