Library May End Subsidy for Neighbors

Saying the troubled state of Ventura County’s library system has led to new pressures on the Thousand Oaks Library, city officials are recommending that the City Council reconsider its policy of subsidizing library services for residents of several unincorporated communities.

Thousand Oaks library officials estimate that since the city signed a contract with the county in 1989 to provide library services to residents in unincorporated Lynn Ranch, Ventu Park and Newbury Park, it has subsidized the areas to the tune of more than $1.24 million.

Responding to an earlier request by Councilwoman Elois Zeanah, city Library Director Marvin E. Smith is asking the council to charge residents in those areas the same $55 yearly fee that other out-of-towners are charged.

However, everyone who goes to school in Thousand Oaks, from the Conejo Valley Unified School District to California Lutheran University, would be exempt from the fee.

“Should we be charging everyone a fair share?” Zeanah said. “We charge Westlake [Village] and Oak Park a fixed fee, and I think we need to charge everyone the same.”

Under the 1989 deal, which was intended to compensate Thousand Oaks for providing library service to the 5,000 to 6,000 residents of the three unincorporated areas, the county has been paying the city a fee.

But the fee has ranged from a high of $21.54 per capita to $12.13 presently--much lower than the per capita amount Thousand Oaks residents have been paying during that time, between $42 and $46. Moreover, city library officials say the county is no longer interested in continuing the contract.

Mayor Judy Lazar said she has mixed feelings about imposing a fee on communities that, for all intents and purposes, are part of Thousand Oaks.

“I have concerns. Obviously, the county has been paying the city a fee, and it has never covered the full cost. But now we’re faced with no money at all from the county to offset these costs.

“It’s tough, because these people are residents of Thousand Oaks for all practical purposes. I still don’t have my mind made up on this one. I’m hopeful we can find a partial compromise, maybe a smaller fee.”

Thousand Oaks library officials are also recommending that for now, at least, the city stay out of the proposed countywide federation of libraries.

The proposal, in a nutshell, is to reorganize the county’s 15-branch library system, possibly placing control of the libraries in the hands of independent library districts made up of Ventura County cities and sharing costs through a central agency.

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Thousand Oaks library officials considered providing some services as part of such an alliance, such as technical support, but concluded that such a move “would prove fiscally unsound, unmanageable and [would] dilute service offered to residents of Thousand Oaks,” Smith wrote in a city report.

Richard Rowe, interim director of the Ventura County Library Services Agency, could not be reached for comment Friday.

But County Supervisor Frank Schillo, one of the federation’s leading proponents, said Thousand Oaks should not shun the proposal so quickly.

“All we’re trying to do is find a way for Thousand Oaks to fit in,” Schillo said. “I’m a Thousand Oaks resident, and I would never want the Thousand Oaks Library to reduce its level of service. That’s not what we’re talking about here. There are ways for everyone to work together in purchasing books and other things to save money.”

Councilman Andy Fox said he would like Thousand Oaks to take some part in the countywide federation, even if it is a minor one.

“I’m certainly not interested in lowering our library services,” Fox said. “But if there’s something we can do to help without compromising our outstanding system, I think we should do it. We shouldn’t ignore the rest of the county just because our libraries are better.”

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Councilman Mike Markey said Thousand Oaks should not bow out of the federation before giving the proposal more time to form.

Lazar said it may make sense eventually, but certainly does not right now.

“I have to agree with the recommendation at this point,” Lazar said. “I don’t see any benefit to joining at this point, but we should continue to look into the possibilities later, as the county continues to develop its concept.

“It may be worthwhile. I hope it is. But right now , it’s not.”

Zeanah said she would not support anything that would place added stress on the city’s library system.

“We can’t take over the county’s responsibility, and we don’t want to,” Zeanah said. “I have never been for that. We already have a library system, and our residents paid dearly for it. I don’t think we should join that federation and raise taxes on our residents.”

Schillo conceded that it may be some time before the proposed federation comes together.

“We’re envious of Thousand Oaks’ library system,” Schillo said. “They have an outstanding library. But for us to restructure, it’s not going to happen overnight.

“The [county] Library Services Agency let us down. They should have taken a long-term approach to their problems instead of asking for more money. We have a way to go, and it would be a shame for Thousand Oaks to give up on us this soon.”