Westlake Village : City Protests Plan to Cut Library Hours

Westlake Village officials are angry over a county plan to save money by cutting hours at the Daniel K. Ludwig Library.

“We are very disturbed over the possibility,” said Mayor Pro Tem Berniece Bennett.

County Librarian Sandra Reuben will meet with Bennett Monday at Westlake Village City Hall to discuss the matter.

Reuben said Friday that the county library system will cut hours at all 87 branches to help close a $20-million budget gap. The system’s book-buying budget will be slashed as well, she said.

Specific cutbacks at individual libraries have not yet been determined, she said, but she expects them to be made after the county budget is adopted next month.

Under an agreement between Westlake Village and the county libraries, Bennett said, the county must provide funds to operate the city library for at least 28 hours a week. It is now open 45 hours a week.

Last year, the agency established a special assessment district to raise money, but never levied taxes because the Board of Supervisors allocated $23 million from the General Fund to bail out the library system.

County officials, however, predict such a transfer is unlikely this year. If sufficient savings cannot by realized by cutting costs, the alternative would be to raise taxes, though that would be highly unpopular, officials said.

Westlake Village opted not to join Community Facilities District No. 8, saying it feared not getting its money’s worth.

One of the 16 cities that joined, Agoura Hills, has since dropped out for the same reason.

Westlake Village officials say that the city spends $148,000 annually from its General Fund to operate the 6,500-square-foot building at 4373 Park Terrace Drive.

The city pays an additional $300,000 from property taxes into the county library system each year.

Meanwhile, the county has asked Calabasas to help share the cost of operating its branch, a small room next to City Hall, said City Manager Charles Cate. Taxpayers in the city already contribute $400,000 annually to the county library system.

Both the City Hall and the library will soon move to larger quarters in the Ralph’s shopping center on Calabasas Road.

Cate said the city is waiting to determine the costs of the new facility before responding to the county’s request.