State Offers Libraries Survival Funds
Seven of Ventura County’s library branches, slated to close at the end of next month, are expected to win a reprieve Tuesday when county leaders vote on accepting a $115,000 state grant.
If county officials accept the money as expected, it would be used to keep the neighborhood branches open and employees working until June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
“We recommend that you authorize our acceptance of these new state funds,” wrote library agency Director Dixie Adeniran in a report to the Board of Supervisors. “With receipt of these funds . . . our financial projection through the end of the fiscal year shows the budget in balance.”
Furthermore, the grant--offered by the California State Library--will give county officials three additional months to develop a plan to establish a countywide library federation.
Under that proposal, the county and its cities would set up a joint-powers agreement that would essentially transfer control of the libraries to individual cities.
Supervisor Frank Schillo, who is spearheading the effort, said the move would enable the libraries to collectively save about $400,000--money that libraries now pay to the county for overhead costs.
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