Council Postpones Decision on Libraries

Council members postponed a vote on whether to withdraw from the county library system until next month, agreeing to consider a new county funding plan that could increase services at the city’s two libraries.

But council members offered little encouragement they could be enticed to keep the city in the county library system. A consultant’s report on city library services made public this week recommends the city withdraw.

“Our residents are telling us that the levels of service are deteriorating beyond what is reasonable,” Councilman Greg Smith said. “We’ve got to find something different to do, because the way it’s structured now isn’t going to cut it. It’s not cutting it now and it’s not going to cut it in the future.”

County Librarian John M. Adams asked council members Tuesday night to wait until a League of Cities library task force issues budget recommendations. A new funding formula may increase revenue to “donor” cities such as Irvine that contribute more to the county library system than they receive, Adams said.

Irvine contributes $2.8 million a year to the county library system, but only $2.3 million a year is spent on the city’s two libraries.

Smith convinced council members to postpone a vote on pulling out of the county library system until their next meeting on Aug. 20. The League of Cities had previously agreed to delay issuing recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on whether Irvine should pull out of the system until the city’s library report was completed. Smith said the League’s library task force deserved the same courtesy.

But council members agreed to investigate various library options, ranging from a city-run system to forming a South County regional library district. The new county funding formula was added to the list of considerations.