Cities Oppose Plan to Split Up Libraries

A proposal by Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton to break up the county library system and have individual cities run their own libraries was met with protest Thursday night from some officials, who fear their cities would be hurt by such a move.

Stratton proposed that Ventura County supervisors immediately transfer authority and each city’s fair share of related tax revenues so that they could begin operating their own libraries, possibly as early as July. He said the cities could contract temporarily with the county to provide library staff and book purchasing services until they get their own management systems in place.

“I believe my city can run the library more efficiently on its own,” Stratton said at the second meeting of a newly formed countywide library committee. “I don’t know if that can happen in a bigger organization.”

But officials from Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai and Port Hueneme all said they would prefer to try to work together first as part of a joint powers authority or some other library partnership before embarking on their own.

They said they feared that their city’s library operating costs would soar if Simi Valley and Ventura--which receive more library tax revenues than the other cities in the county system because of their larger populations--were to go out on their own.

“We need to see if we can streamline the system and fix it first before we divide up,” said Fillmore Councilman Scott Lee. “We should work together and try to save what we have. And if that doesn’t work, then we can each take our marbles and go home.”

But Stratton said he was not convinced that a joint powers authority could run the library system any better than the county. He also said he thought that each city would be better off deciding on its own what level of library service it wants to provide.

“I feel confident I know the goals of my community,” he said. “I don’t feel like I know what the needs are of other communities.”

Although his city was not represented at Thursday’s meeting of the countywide Library Services Committee, Ventura Councilman Jim Friedman said Ventura favors Stratton’s proposal. He said his city is boycotting the library committee’s meetings because it wants first to ensure that it receives an equitable share of power, money and authority over its three libraries.

Otherwise, he said, “it could be argued that the larger cities are subsidizing the smaller cities and that’s where the problem--or at least the perception of the problem--lies.”

After two hours of discussion, the library committee decided to ask individual city managers and the county’s chief administrator to put together a report on the financial pros and cons of forming a joint powers authority versus running their own libraries.

Once the report is done, the library committee, which includes county Supervisors Frank Schillo and Judy Mikels, can decide what proposal it wants to present to the Board of Supervisors for its consideration.

The county library system has had its $10-million budget cut in half during the past four years and has been struggling to keep operating. A private consultant hired by the county last year recommended that the library system be reorganized to reduce overhead costs.

Member cities of the county library system recently formed the Library Services Implementation Committee to devise a restructuring plan. Although the consultant also recommended placing a countywide sales tax measure on the ballot to help raise library revenues, officials said they do not think voters would support such an initiative.

But Santa Paula Councilman Don Johnson, whose city operates its own library system and also supported a local parcel tax to help pay for its operations, warned library committee members Thursday night that if they agree to split up, they will ultimately have to come up with more money if they want to improve services.

“Running your own library is great, but you’re still not going to have enough money,” he said. “And there is only one place you can go for it, and that is back to the voters.”

In addition to Santa Paula, the cities of Thousand Oaks and Oxnard operate their own libraries.