Library Study Leaves Leaders With Questions

Poised to meet collectively to discuss the final consultant’s report on Ventura County’s library system tonight, city leaders say they have many questions still remaining about the 140-page report’s recommendations.

The report’s two main proposals--restructuring the entire library system and asking voters to approve a one-eighth-cent sales tax increase that would bring in $9 million for the libraries--sound good on paper to many city officials.

But a lack of clarity on how the first recommendation would be implemented, coupled with doubts about taxpayers’ willingness to shoulder the financial burden of the libraries, raises concerns for some leaders.

“Maybe I am a pessimist, but I’m not sure that the citizens of the county or the residents of Simi Valley are going to support a sales-tax increase,” Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said.

Fillmore Mayor Roger Campbell called the idea of a sales tax “ludicrous,” saying he isn’t willing to increase funding to the troubled library system without seeing a radical change in the way the libraries are run, including cutbacks in salaries for administrators.

“They aren’t talking about tightening their belts,” Campbell said. “They are talking about getting a new one. I’m not buying them a new one. It is time the fat cats went on a diet.”

While others described themselves as confused and uncertain--though otherwise pleased--about some aspects of the consultant’s report, Campbell was disdainful of it.

“My impression is it looks like somebody from the administration of Library Services wrote this thing,” Campbell said. “It is basically useless.”

George Berg, a member of Save Our Libraries, said he is puzzled by some aspects of the report, but considers it a good framework to start from.

“I doubt very much that we will be able to follow everything they say,” Berg said. “But I hope this will allow us to put together a coalition to really work at and solve our library problem.”

According to the report, the county’s 15 libraries can be run much more efficiently using their current $5-million budget. By forming special districts, removing some administrative overhead and restructuring staffing, the consultant promises the libraries could keep their doors open more hours, be more accessible to the public and be better organized.

That is a nice scenario, but some leaders say they don’t really understand how it would work. And, Stratton wonders, what are the advantages of joining a special library district operated by the county as opposed to cities taking over their own branches?

Simi Valley recently used its own consultant to study whether it made financial sense to break off on its own. That study said the city could save more than $300,000 annually by leaving the county system. Stratton said the county’s consultant report has not made it clear to him that its recommendation for a special district is a better option.

“Does Simi’s library come out better or worse being part of the county?” Stratton said. “I suspect all the cities are going to be asking that question.”

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From Campbell’s point of view, reorganizing into special districts pawns the system’s problems off on the individual cities.

“All I see is the county trying to abdicate their responsibility for the library system,” Campbell said.

But for Mike Saliba, president of the Ventura County Taxpayers Assn., the drawback of the consultant’s report is quite the opposite. He said it does not address the issue of cities taking greater fiscal responsibility for the libraries.

“Our official position is that we think most people would feel that, after public safety, that there should be some permanent commitment out of general funds,” Saliba said, citing the success of the Thousand Oaks and Oxnard systems, which are both funded by the cities.

Ventura Councilman Jim Friedman said his biggest doubts rest on the proposed sales tax, which would require a countywide vote. He questioned how likely voter approval would be given that two of the county’s largest cities--Thousand Oaks and Oxnard--already operate their own library systems.

“I don’t know what would motivate a city like Thousand Oaks or Oxnard to vote for an eighth-of-a-cent sales tax increase when they are already supporting their own libraries,” he said.

His fellow councilman, Jim Monahan, also said he is troubled by the tax idea.

“If we had a better economy right now it might be a little different,” Monahan said. “I don’t think taxing people more when things are bad is the best thing to do.”

Supervisor Frank Schillo said he was happy with the report, but unwilling to rush into raising taxes. The consultant suggests that the county should make an immediate commitment to putting the tax increase on next November’s ballot. But Schillo said he wants to start with the restructuring, prove to residents that the system can be run more efficiently and then consider the next option.

“I’m not ready to start a campaign of any nature,” Schillo said. “Except a campaign to get us clean and operating lean.”

But he says eventually more money will have to be found if Ventura County is to ever have a good library system.

“We have to get across to the public that we have squeezed every dime we can out of the present system,” Schillo said.

Save Our Libraries’ Berg agreed.

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“I’m convinced that to have good library service, the kind of library Ventura County deserves--it is not as though this is some backwater county stuck in the redwoods--we have to find another funding source,” Berg said.

The report includes at least one recommendation that Ventura council members said they can’t support: shutting Ventura’s Avenue branch.

“I don’t think the consultants have a real good feel as to the benefit and resource that that library provides that section of the city,” Friedman said.

Earlier this week, Lin Koester, county chief administrative officer, sent a memo to supervisors and Ventura officials noting that the Avenue branch is funded by the city and is not a part of the county system. Its future, therefore, depends on the city, not the county.

The meeting will start with a 6 p.m. dinner at the Oxnard Hilton.

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Administrative Changes

The consultant’s report includes a number of administrative changes designed to improve service and use funds more efficiently. They include:

* Closing Ventura’s Avenue branch.

* Turning the Foster Library in Ventura into a main reference library. In the future, a second reference library would be established in the east county.

* Relocating library management to an office in the Government Center to save money and centralize administration.

* Creating a centralized Collections program for the entire system at the Simi Valley Library.

* Bringing more staff people out of administration positions and using them in positions where they can be helpful to the public. Intended to result in a 20% increase in additional open hours with no increase in cost.