Columbus zoo, township remain at odds over $1 surcharge.

POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Columbus Zoo and Liberty Township remain at odds over a $1 surcharge on zoo admission aimed at funding emergency services the township provides.

"We estimate that a typical run, regardless of any type of run, whether it's the zoo or to somebody's home, it's about somewhere around $3,500," Liberty Township fiscal officer Rick Karr said.

The Protect and Serve Charge officially went into effect Oct. 1 after township leaders delayed it by a month to give the zoo time to comply. But there are questions about whether the zoo is collecting it.

When NBC4 tried buying a zoo ticket online Wednesday, there was no sign of the new fee, only the standard conservation and processing fee.

"The idea of the fees is that there is an additional burden by nonprofit organizations when they have visitors, over 2,000 people per day, that they do create a safety burden to those in the township," Karr said.

Under Ohio House Bill 315, Ohio townships like Liberty can now add a fee of up to $1 per ticket to help cover the rising costs of these services.

Zoo leaders filed a lawsuit against Liberty Township, arguing the law isn't meant for non-profits like itself, but a judge ruled the zoo qualifies as an entertainment venue and the township could impose the charge.

"We've said a number of times we're willing to sit down and have further discussions on coming up with a solution that might be more beneficial to both the zoo and the township and all those in the city of Powell," Karr said.

The zoo has around 2 million visitors every year. That could mean an extra $2 million annually for the township. According to township leaders, those visits come at a cost, especially for medical runs. The township fire department made 87 emergency runs to the zoo last year, which cost the department close to $300,000.

"In addition to that, there's a lot of training and additional things that the fire department, EMS goes through in Liberty Township to support and provide all the additional services that the zoo may require if there is a variety of incidents that could happen at the zoo," Karr said.

"We believe that Liberty Township has no legal authority for this tax to be imposed on our guests. We are continuing to make our legal case, and at this time since we are in litigation, we cannot make any further comments."

According to Liberty Township, the Protect and Serve Charge is not a tax; it is a designated service fee collected by the venue and remitted to the township to directly offset the costs of police, fire, and emergency medical services needed to safeguard guests and staff at high-capacity venues.

"The trustees foresee that we'll continue to play this out in Delaware Common Pleas Court and continue to focus on moving forward with the protect and serve fees," Karr said.

Since this is an active legal matter, the zoo directed NBC4 to its attorneys for further comment, but we've yet to hear back.