New Library Plan Would Balance Tax With Benefit

Some hard-hit county libraries could face a second round of cutbacks while others might see increased service under a plan being developed to balance branch library services against the taxes paid by the communities they serve.

The plan, now being finalized by County Librarian John M. Adams, also calls for the 27-branch system to stop dipping into its reserves to balance its operating budget, which has dwindled from $27 million in 1991 to $20 million this year.

Without money from the reserves, the library budget will have to be slashed by another $3 million this summer, which probably would force additional cuts in staffing, materials purchases and patron services.

The plan under development is designed to address complaints from Irvine, Laguna Niguel and other cities that contribute more tax revenue to the system than they get back in library services. Citing such inequities, Irvine officials have threatened to pull out of the county system altogether and operate the city’s two libraries independently.

In a bid to keep the system intact and more fairly distribute system resources, the plan would allocate additional funds to libraries in so-called “donor cities,” which together contribute about $1.5 million more in tax revenue than the library system gives them back in service.

But spending more on the branch libraries in Irvine and Costa Mesa, for example, would almost certainly force the county to make cutbacks at the branch libraries serving such communities as Garden Grove and Seal Beach, which now have service costing more than their residents pay in taxes.

The cuts would amount to a second hit for these libraries, a few of which are already operating just two or three days a week.

“If kids go to the library and can’t get in, I think you’ll hear a hue and a cry from the community,” said Seal Beach Councilman George Brown. “People have already seen a lot of cuts.”

Despite the concerns, Adams and other officials insist that the strategy offers the best hope for the library system to stem its financial losses and give individual cities more control and responsibility for their local branches.

“I believe the proposal provides the highest level of service achievable for all participants,” Adams said. “For the communities we serve, it reflects the idea that you get out of the system what you put into it.”

The plan, which is expected to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors next month, concludes months of meetings and debate among city and county officials over the future of the system.

It also marks the most comprehensive effort yet to deal with the system’s financial crisis, which began five years ago with the state’s decision to solve its own budgetary woes by cutting the amount of property tax revenue received by libraries and other special districts.

The state action has shrunk the libraries’ operating budget by about a third and forced sharp reductions in branch operating hours and purchases of new books and periodicals.

Until now, officials have blunted the full force of the cuts by using library reserves. Ending the system’s reliance on reserves would provide a truer picture of its financial situation and allow individual branches to adjust their spending accordingly, Adams said.

Once funding levels for each branch have been established, cities will be able to “buy” additional services or operating hours either through private fund-raising or contributions directly from municipal coffers.

The thorniest issue in the library reorganization is how to deal with the five “donor cities” like Irvine, whose residents contribute as much as $500,000 more in property tax than they get back in library service.

Adams said his office is developing a formula that would provide some additional funds to libraries in donor cities. However, the formula would also consider other factors, including the usage of each branch and the population it serves.

Officials have yet to determine the precise reallocation of funds, but “it seems logical that cities that relied most heavily on subsidies in the past would have the greatest alterations as a result of the new formula,” Adams said.

Garden Grove, for example, contributes $830,000 in property tax to the system, but its library services cost the county $1.8 million.

City officials argue, however, that Garden Grove’s regional library serves residents from around central Orange County, and that it does not charge the library system rent on the city-owned buildings. Moreover, two of the city’s three libraries operate only two days a week and with extensive volunteer help.

“People have made an investment in [the libraries] by paying taxes over time,” Councilman Mark Leyes said. “They feel wronged. . . . They feel entitled to see their service continue.”

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Balancing the Books

County officials are considering a library reorganization that would provide additional funding to branches in cities that contribute more in tax payments than they receive in services. Branches in other cities might get less funding. Data for fiscal year 1995-96.

Cities contributing more tax revenue than they get back in library service value:

*--*

Tax Service contribution value Difference Costa Mesa $1,245,811 $1,060,216 $185,595 Irvine 2,889,891 2,326,522 563,369 Laguna Hills* 557,730 0 557,730 Laguna Niguel 894,833 746,867 147,966 San Clemente 701,008 699,785 1,223

*--*

Cities receiving library services costing more than tax contributions:

*--*

Tax Service contribution value Difference Brea $302,515 $630,566 $328,051 Cypress 364,681 768,723 404,042 Dana Point 619,357 692,312 72,955 Fountain Valley 451,946 797,367 345,421 Garden Grove 830,035 1,892,368 1,062,333 Laguna Beach 603,535 699,098 95,563 La Habra 392,835 745,162 352,327 Lake Forest 602,622 879,079 276,457 Los Alamitos** 146,764 707,047 560,283 San Juan Capistrano 412,987 1,039,480 626,493 Seal Beach 300,511 639,254 338,743 Tustin 620,528 842,234 221,706 Westminster 476,814 899,279 422,465

*--*

* No library within city limits

** Library located just outside city limits

Note: County library system serves 19 cities plus unincorporated areas; Villa Park data unavailable

Source: David M. Griffith & Associates, Orange County Public Library system; Researched by SHELBY GRAD / For The Times