2 Cities May Take Over Libraries : Budget: Angered by cuts in operating hours, Simi Valley and Moorpark are considering checking out their branches from the county system.

Leaders in two east Ventura County cities, upset about a countywide cut in operating hours that took effect Monday, are considering pulling out of the 15-branch county library system.

Angry about the elimination of nearly 50% of the operating hours at the Simi Valley Library, Mayor Greg Stratton said Monday that his city should consider withdrawing from the county library system. Moorpark leaders are also talking about such a move.

Library hours throughout the county system were reduced because the agency’s 1993-94 budget was slashed by $1.7 million.

The Moorpark Library, which had been open 51 hours a week, now operates just 20 hours. The Simi Valley Library--the largest in the county system--is now open 28 hours a week, down from 54.

“Your cuts to the Simi Valley Library are . . . totally unacceptable,” Stratton wrote in a recent letter to Dixie Adeniran, director of Ventura County’s Library Services Agency.

He asked Adeniran to explain why Simi Valley’s hours were cut nearly in half, even though the entire system’s budget was cut by only 20%. Stratton said he wants to explore a city takeover of the local library, a step that other cities may follow.

“I’m not satisfied that the (county library) district is providing the service in a way that’s best for our constituents,” the mayor said in an interview Monday.

In his letter, Stratton said the city may look into taking over the library’s operating costs and paying the county district to staff it.

The arrangement would be similar to law enforcement in cities such as Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, which pay the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department to provide local police services.

“Perhaps detachment and contracting back (for staffing) would be better and would let each city decide how much library service they want,” Stratton said in his letter.

The mayor said he does not believe the county agency is giving Simi Valley a fair share of services in view of the property taxes collected in his city.

His proposal came on the heels of a decision by the Thousand Oaks City Council to study whether it would be more cost-efficient for that city to break away from the Ventura County Fire Department.

In the late 1970s, Thousand Oaks, reacting to concerns that it was subsidizing libraries elsewhere in the county, left the county system to build and run its own libraries.

In his letter, Stratton said he believes the county library system is top-heavy with administrators based in Ventura. He said the agency is not devoting enough of its budget to keeping local branches open longer.

Stratton invited Adeniran to justify the 50% cutback in hours and discuss a possible transfer of library operations at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

In an interview Monday, Adeniran said Simi Valley leaders are not alone in their concerns about the library cutbacks. She said she is preparing a response to Moorpark City Council members, who recently proposed a city takeover of their branch library.

Adeniran said the Ventura County Board of Supervisors has asked her to survey cities and school districts throughout the county about ways to bolster the ailing library system.

During the past two years, the library system’s annual budget has plunged from $10.1 million to $6.7 million because of funding shifts approved by state lawmakers. Supervisors recently added $1.6 million in county funds to shore up the library budget.

Adeniran said she is willing to talk about giving cities more control over their libraries. But she said that would not resolve all of the libraries’ problems, and she disputed Stratton’s view that the system spends too much on administrators.

“Organizing and reorganizing may be of some help,” she said. But, she added: “In my mind, the bottom-line problem is not organization, but money.

Ventura County Library Hours The following hours go into effect this week. BRANCH / LOCATION: CAMARILLO, Camarillo Library, 3100 Ponderosa Drive DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Tuesday: 2 to 8 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday: Noon to 6 p.m.,Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m., Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: FILLMORE-PIRU, Fillmore Library, 502 2nd St. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Tuesday: 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m., Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: FILLMORE-PIRU, Piru Library, 3811 Center St. DAYS / HOURS: Monday and Wednesday: 3 to 7 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: MOORPARK, Moorpark Library, 699 Moorpark Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Tuesday: 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: OAK PARK, Oak Park Library, 899 N. Kanan Road, Agoura DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 3 to 7 p.m., Friday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: OJAI, Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Tuesday: 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m.Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: OJAI, Meiners Oaks Library, 114 N. Padre Juan Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 2 to 6 p.m., Friday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: OJAI, Oak View Library, 469 N. Ventura Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 2 to 6 p.m., Friday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: OXNARD, El Rio-Soliz Library, 2820 Jourdan St. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 2 to 6 p.m., Friday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: PORT HUENEME, Ray D. Prueter Library, 510 Park Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday and Wednesday: 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m.Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: SATICOY, Saticoy Library DAYS / HOURS: Hours and location to be announced BRANCH / LOCATION: VENTURA, Avenue Library, 807 N. Ventura Ave. DAYS / HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 2 to 6 p.m., Friday-Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: VENTURA, E.P. Foster Library, 651 E. Main St. DAYS / HOURS: Tuesday: 2 to 6 p.m., Thursday: Noon to 6 p.m., Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: VENTURA, Historical Museum Library, 100 E. Main St. DAYS / HOURS: Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday: Closed BRANCH / LOCATION: VENTURA, H.P. Wright Library, 57 Day Road DAYS / HOURS: Monday: 2 to 8 p.m., Wednesday: Noon to 6 p.m., Saturday: 1 to 5 p.m.Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday: Closed Source: Ventura County Library Services Agency