HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2023 0906 CCSA REG ITEM 09BCITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
of September 6, 2023
ACTION PROVIDED DIRECTION TO STAFF
TO: APPROVE WAIVER OF $61,810.67 IN
LATE FINES AT THE MOORPARK CITY
LIBRARY; IMPLEMENT A FINE FREE
LIBRARY POLICY; DISCONTINUE BLOCKING
ACCESS TO IN-LIBRARY SERVICES FOR
OVERDUE ACCOUNTS; AND DEVELOP A
METRIC FOR TRACKING RETURN OF
MATERIALS AND REPORT BACK ON
OUTCOMES IN ONE YEAR. (VOICE VOTE:
UNANIMOUS)
BY A. Hurtado.
B. Consider Fine Free Policy at Moorpark City Library and Waiver of Accrued Library
Fines. Staff Recommendation: 1) Provide discussion and direction of
implementation of a fine free library; and 2) Approve waiver of $61,810.67 in late
fines at the Moorpark City Library. (Staff: Jessica Sandifer, Deputy Parks and
Recreation Director)
Item: 9.B.
MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Jessica Sandifer, Deputy Parks and Recreation Director
DATE: 09/06/2023 Regular Meeting
SUBJECT: Consider Fine Free Policy at Moorpark City Library and Waiver of
Accrued Library Fines
SUMMARY
Staff is bringing this item to the City Council for discussion of the Fine Free Policy at the
Moorpark City Library and is requesting City Council approval to waive $61,810.67 in
accrued library overdue fines. For comparison purposes, a fine free program is like the
original Netflix DVD program. Patrons check items out, when they are done with them,
they return them. If items are not returned, patrons are prohibited from checking more
items out, but once the item is returned, they are then allowed to continue to check out
items. If an item is permanently lost, patrons are charged and must pay the replacement
cost of the item before continuing to check out materials. The implementation of the Fine
Free Policy increases equitable access to Moorpark City Library materials and resources
for all library patrons and frees up valuable staff time that can be better spent on assisting
library patrons and planning programs and events.
BACKGROUND
When the City took over Library operations from the County of Ventura, all policies related
to the library, including the Circulation Policy resided within the City Council Policies
resolution. At that time policies for the library were developed by staff, and reviewed by
the Library Board, and added to the City Council policies resolution. Any subsequent
changes or amendments to those policies were taken to the Library Board and, if
recommended by the Library Board, the changes were included in updates to the City
Council policy resolution.
Item: 9.B.
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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many changes to administrative policies were
implemented to encourage participation in government services and enhance
accessibility while at the same time encouraging social distancing. The Fine Free Policy
was first initiated at the Moorpark City Library in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In
consideration of potential hardships of library patrons due to the pandemic, the City
Manager initiated a halt on collection and accrual of overdue fines and fees under his
emergency authority.
During the pandemic many library systems began going fine free, which prompted City
staff to explore the issue further. In February 2022, the Library Board, as the legislative
body responsible for review of library policies and procedures, considered whether or not
it was appropriate to implement a Fine Free Policy at the Moorpark City Library. The
Board recommended moving forward with the Fine Free Policy. Prior to staff calendaring
the item for further consideration by the City Council, the City Council approved the
incorporation of certain policies into the Administrative Policies Manual (APM).
The APM document contains all the policies determined to be not a City Council policy
matter. These polices were removed from the City Council Policies resolution and are
now managed by the individual departments. In May 2022, former City Council Policy
6.18 - Moorpark City Library Circulation was moved to the APM, which gave the Parks
and Recreation Director the authority to approve policy changes, in consultation with the
City Manager. Since the Library Board had previously concurred with the implementation
of a Fine Free Policy, and after discussion with the City Manager, the Parks and
Recreation Director approved the full implementation of the Fine Free Policy at the
Library. Following that decision, a new Fine and Fee Resolution was taken to the City
Council in April 2023 which, consistent with the new Policy approved by the Parks and
Recreation Director, removed library fines from the fine and fee schedule.
Although the policy change halted overdue fines there is still a balance of accrued,
overdue fines in the amount of $61,810.67. As discussed in more detail below, there are
a significant number of blocked patron accounts due to these overdue fines. Blocked
patron accounts do not have use of library resources which require a valid library card to
access such as books and other materials, instrument loan program, and electronic book
and movie databases. Waiver of these overdue fines would allow these blocked patrons
to come back and use the full breadth of library resources.
Pursuant to City Council direction at the May 17, 2023, City Council meeting, staff is now
bringing the Fine Free Policy to the City Council for discussion and approval of the waiver
of the accrued overdue fines.
DISCUSSION
Fine Free Library
Throughout the United States, libraries are recognizing that fines for overdue materials
returned late are a barrier to the public accessing library materials and resources. In
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addition to not being able to access library materials, the stigma associated with the fines
or overdue material keeps patrons with blocked accounts or fines from returning to the
Library. To reduce these barriers, 400 libraries across the Country have transitioned to
a fine free model, according to the Urban Libraries Council (ULC).1 ULC publishes a map
of all of the library systems that have implemented Fine Free Policies across the country.
In addition to the location of the library system, the map publishes each library systems
reason for implementing fine free policies. Providing equitable access was among the
most often stated reason cited by the various library systems on why they made the move
to fine free. Below are some snippets from various libraries in California:
• “By eliminating fines, economic barriers are removed, and patrons can rediscover
all that their library has to offer.” – Thousand Oaks Public Library
• “Eliminating access barriers, encouraging new patronage” – Simi Valley Library
• “This move is part of our efforts to improve equity of access. While fines for overdue
items may seem like a small burden, they can create a major barrier to service for
those who are struggling financially. Too many people have made the choice to
stop using the Library because of inability to pay or fear of accruing fines. -Burbank
Public Library
• “Santa Barbara Public Library’s mission is to best serve its community and provide
equitable access to all, and overdue fines were in opposition to this goal,” – Santa
Barbara Public Library
• “Our purpose is to be a free public library, with free being the active word
there….The policy came about as we were looking at the number of cardholders
that we had blocked right now—we had over 800 children's cards blocked—and
we felt like that was not serving our mission.” – San Luis Obispo County Library
Locally, 16 of the 21 libraries in Ventura County have eliminated fines. This includes the
Ventura County Library System (12 libraries serving the cities of Ventura, Fillmore, Ojai,
Port Hueneme plus unincorporated Oak Park, Piru and Saticoy), Thousand Oaks Library
System (two libraries serving Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park), Simi Valley (one
library) and Santa Paula (one library).2 The City of Moorpark is in a distinct minority of
local libraries still charging fees which includes Camarillo (one library), who is currently
considering Fine Free, and Oxnard (three libraries). Furthermore, the nearby Agoura Hills
and Westlake Village libraries (both part of the Los Angeles County Library System)3 and
City of Calabasas Library (one library) are also fine free.
1 Fine Free Map https://www.urbanlibraries.org/initiatives/democracy/fine-free-map
2 https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/local/communities/conejo-valley/2021/07/12/fine-free-thousand-oaks-
libraries-latest-ventura-county-end-late-fees/7889989002/
3 https://lacountylibrary.org/fine-free/
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Studies also show that overdue fines disproportionately impact low-income library
patrons, who tend to use the library at a higher frequency to access resources like
computers or high-speed internet that they are unable to supply with their limited incomes.
Removing overdue fines for materials is intended to encourage new patrons who may not
be using the library because of the overdue fines or fear of accruing them.
When discussing whether or not to eliminate overdue fines, there are generally several
reasons used to justify maintaining overdue fines. The three reasons cited most
frequently are discussed below. The data provided in this report was pulled from the
report “Overdue Fines: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How Eliminating them can
benefit public libraries.”4
• Fines ensure materials are returned on time, making borrowing fair. The basis of
this assumption is that fines remind patrons to return materials on time.
Unfortunately, no academic study or other analysis has been conducted that
supports this assumption, so there is no hard data to refer to as to whether the
imposition of fines leads to materials being returned on time. Conversely, when
self-reporting their experiences after going fine free, many fine free libraries saw a
reduction in late returns when fines were eliminated. In one frequently cited study
of public libraries, researchers Hansel and Burgin noted, that they observed “no
significant difference in overdue rates between libraries that charged fines and
those that did not.” The fact that fines make borrowing fair is also subjective and
dependent upon the viewpoint of the patron. The argument is that fines ensure
that all borrowers return their books, ensuring equal access to all patrons. This
viewpoint assumes that everyone is able to pay fines and that imposing fines
makes the system fair. But when viewed through the viewpoint of the economically
disadvantaged, once fines are assessed, the disproportionate impact fines have
on patrons who cannot afford to pay those fines, skews that idea of fairness. In
this instance, fines only really ensure return of materials by those patrons who can
afford to pay.
• Fines teach civic responsibility. It is often assumed that returning a library book
late demonstrates a library users’ irresponsibility and/or lack of respect for other
patrons. Fines are used as a way to punish users for this irresponsibility or
incentivize users to return the materials on time, but it does not consider that often
otherwise responsible people, have family challenges or generally busy lives, and
the late return of a library book is more often a common mistake that people make,
rather than a play to take advantage of a system or deprive other patrons of
materials. The argument also demonstrates a misunderstanding of the Fine Free
program. While daily overdue fines are eliminated, fine free programs do not
eliminate all means of financial consequences for returning materials. When
4 Unrein, Sabrina. (2020). “Overdue Fines: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How Eliminating Them Can
Benefit Public Libraries.” Syracuse, NY: iSchool Public Libraries Initiative at Syracuse University.
https://ischool.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Overdue-Fines-Advantages-Disadvantages-and-How-
Eliminating-Them-Can-Benefit-Public-Libraries.pdf
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patrons fail to return the item within a given time frame, they are sent a bill for
replacement of the item. Oftentimes, the bill for the replacement of the item, which
is generally higher than the maximum overdue fine, is still enough incentive to elicit
the return of the materials. As a result, removal of the overdue fines results in
more flexibility in book returns but does not remove all patron responsibility.
• Fines Supplement the Library’s Budget. For the Moorpark City Library, overdue
library fine revenues over the last three fiscal years prior to the pandemic averaged
$10,794. As will be discussed in more detail below, collecting this revenue
involves staff time attempting to collect the fines, which removes staff from
assisting patrons in the library and reduces their ability to focus on other programs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in recognition of the economic hardships of the
pandemic, library overdue fines were suspended, and the library budget has been
operating since without benefit of this revenue. The lack of fine revenue has had
no impact on the Library’s Operational Funding.
When discussing elimination of fines, there are several benefits with a Fine Free Program.
These benefits, and their applicability to Moorpark library patrons are discussed below:
• Provides for equity and inclusion and increases patron access to materials and
services: Where there is a lack of evidence supporting the use of Fines, that does
not hold true when it comes to evidence suggesting that fines disproportionately
affect low-income library patrons. While a fine might seem like a small penalty for
some, paying $6 to be able to return a library book can adversely impact low-
income families. Research conducted in Seattle and San Francisco noted that
higher proportions of their blocked accounts came from areas of the City that were
poorer and more diverse than the city as whole. Generally, lower income families
have less disposable income making it more difficult for them to pay fines. The
fines restrict access to library materials, which impacts lower income families, who
do not have the funds to purchase books or other materials. Fines have also been
shown to affect a patrons library behavior. Some library users do not check out
books at all, for fear of incurring the fine.
In Moorpark, statistics related to blocked accounts impacting patrons living in lower
income areas is no different. Of the 5,086 blocked accounts, approximately 4,477
are within City limits. Below is a description of blocked accounts broken down by
District. (This is an estimate since the census tracts do not align perfectly with our
Districts):
District 1 - 663 blocked accounts
District 2 - 852 blocked accounts
District 3 - 843 blocked accounts
District 4 - 2,119 blocked accounts
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As noted, among the blocked accounts within City limits, 47% of blocked accounts
fall within District 4 and of those, 37% (1637) are in just two census tracts, 76.11
and 76.12 which have lower median incomes ($86,893 and $78,180, respectively)
as compared to the City Median income of $125,915, and the median income of
the other census tracts. The below chart shows the disparity between incomes by
census tracts in Moorpark:
A fine free program can attract patrons back to the library who may not be using
the library due to overdue fines or fear of accruing fines. Overdue fines lead to
blocked accounts which dissuade users from using the library. Blocked accounts
are prohibited from checking out physical materials and accessing resources on
the website that require a valid library card and restrict access to the public
computers. While patrons with blocked accounts who visit the library are given a
temporary card to access the computers, the amount of time they can access the
computers is limited to one hour, which can be extended at the terminal if no one
is waiting or they would have to wait until another computer becomes available
and return to the circulation desk to access more computer time.
As mentioned, currently 5,086 Moorpark Library accounts are blocked. If fine free
is approved, and the overdue fees are waived, approximately 2,934 of the currently
blocked users could immediately return to the library and begin using resources.
The remaining patron accounts are blocked due to missing materials and those
accounts would continue to be blocked until the materials are returned or the lost
item fee is paid.
Census Tract Median Income
% Below
Poverty Line
76.07 169,417.00$ 0.8%
76.09 158,984.00$ 1.2%
76.10 141,596.00$ 3.0%
76.11 86,983.00$ 4.3%
76.12 78,180.00$ 8.2%
76.13 136,750.00$ 4.4%
76.14 120,119.00$ 2.3%
93.00 154,750.00$ 6.4%
Median Household Income by Census Tract
& % Below Poverty Line (number of people in
the tract living below the poverty level divided by the
tract’s total population) Source: 2020 Census
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• Optimize library staff time, increases efficiency, and improve patron relations: For
cost efficiency purposes, the Moorpark City Library staffing is run lean, with 7.5 full
time equivalent employees provided through the contract with the City’s library
operator. Collecting overdue fines impacts that staff time by reducing the amount
of time staff can spend with patrons. In 2019, the Moorpark City Library
implemented automatic renewals, in an effort to reduce the number of overdue
fines. Automatic renewals automatically renew overdue items for one additional
two-week period, reducing fines based on patrons not renewing their checked-out
materials. But even with the implementation of auto-renewals it costs at a
minimum 50% of the fine revenue to collect it. As an example, in Fiscal Year (FY)
2018/19 library staff spent 572 hours in staff time at a cost of $8,549 to collect
$10,849 in fines. In FY 2019/20, after auto-renewals were implemented, library
staff spent 239 hours and $3,568 in staffing to collect $6,174 in fines. As noted by
City of Calabasas library staff, the Fine Free program also improves patron
relations. Oftentimes, staff spend significant time with a patron who comes in to
argue the fine, or request waiver of the fine. Sometimes this can create an
uncomfortable experience for other patrons in the Library and further interrupts that
staff person’s ability to help other patrons while assisting with the fine issue.
Essentially, the hours spent collecting overdue fines or assisting with patrons at
the counter, could have been spent assisting other library patrons or planning and
conducting library programming.
• Encourages the return of library materials so that many items do not have to be re-
purchased: Oftentimes patrons just choose to hold on to the materials, rather than
returning them and dealing with the fine. In these instances, patrons are charged
the overdue fines in addition to the replacement cost of the item. Among libraries
that have gone fine free, they report an increase in the number of items returned
to the library and increases in lost items returned to the library. Chicago reported
a 240% increase in book returns within the first month of going fine free. High
Plains Library District in Colorado saw an increase in circulation and 95% of their
materials returned within one week of the original due date.5 Staff polled some of
the local fine free libraries, regarding their experiences. The City of Calabasas
noted that when they notify patrons a book is considered lost, the material is almost
always returned immediately. They also noted a general improvement in patron
relations. Similarly, the City of Thousand Oaks has noted that they have not seen
an increase in materials not being returned because they still have the fees as a
consequence of not returning materials.
As a point of clarification, overdue fines are the daily charges applied to items not returned
by their specified due date. Overdue fines were previously capped at a maximum of
$6/item for books and $12/item for audiobooks, DVD’s and videos. Billed-item fees, or
5 Depriest, Meg Johnson. “Removing Barriers to Access: Eliminating Fines and Fees on Children’s
Materials.” White paper presented to the Colorado Library Association. Retrieved from
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/removingbarrierstoaccess
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just fees, are charged for damaged, unreturned, or lost items, as well as processing fees.
Library services such as copying, printing, and inter-library loans are also considered
fees. The Fine Free Policy proposes to eliminate only the daily overdue charges, it does
not eliminate any fees. Fees are charged in the following instances:
• Damage to items include ink stains, water damage, removed labels, missing parts,
torn pages, and other problems caused by improper care of library materials.
Damaged items that require removal from the collection need to be paid for in full.
• An item is considered “late” when it is not returned or renewed on or before the
due date. Items not returned within 28 days of their due date go to “lost” status and
patrons are billed a fee for their replacement. However, if the item is returned the
replacement fee, would be waived.
• Once an item is deemed lost (after 28 days) those accounts become blocked and
patrons are unable to use library services that require a valid library card until they
pay the replacement fee or return the item.
Although fine free does away with overdue library fines, it does not get rid of fees for lost
or damaged materials. Patrons are still required to pay for these materials consistent with
adopted library policies, thereby providing a consequence for keeping materials past the
due date.
Overdue Fine Waiver
As part of the discussion on the Fine Free Policy, staff is requesting approval to waive the
accrued overdue fines. Prior to the pandemic and implementing the Fine Free Policy,
library patrons accrued overdue fines until the book is returned. If the book remained
overdue for 28 days, it is considered lost. Once deemed lost, the patron then accrues the
replacement book cost in addition to the overdue fines. Under current Policy, accounts
are blocked once they reach a $5.00 minimum overdue fine. However, accounts are not
sent to collections until they reach a minimum of $50.00. Since very few accounts reach
the $50.00 minimum, very few accounts achieve successful collection. Since 2007, the
Moorpark City Library has accrued a balance of uncollected overdue fines totaling
$61,810.67 across 8,586 patron accounts, which is an average of $7.19 per account.
Currently 5,086 of the accounts are blocked meaning they cannot use the library until the
fines are paid. These blocked accounts average $14.00 per account which still does not
reach the $50.00 minimum to qualify for collection. Collection is only conducted on an
account-by-account basis, so even though the total balance exceeds $50.00, the fact the
individual accounts do not exceed $50.00 makes them ineligible for collection.
To be clear, staff is only requesting waiver of overdue fines, the fees related to lost
materials are not requested to be waived.
Staff is requesting approval to waive $61,810.67 in uncollected late fines.
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Staff is supportive of continuing the Fine Free Policy as implemented under the
Administrative Policies Manual (PRCS-14). However, if the City Council should direct that
the Fine Free Policy be reversed, then staff would return at a future meeting with
Amendments to the City Council Policy Resolution, to re-instate the Library Circulation
policy as a City Council Policy, and an amendment to the Fine and Fee Resolution, to
add Library Fines back into the resolution.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it does
not constitute a project, as defined by Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Therefore, no further environmental review is required.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact of the fee waiver is minimal. Since the fees have been accruing since
2007, and staff has made every effort to collect these fees throughout this time period, it
is highly unlikely that the fees would have ever been collected therefore no financial
impact will be felt from waiver of the fines.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE
At the time this action was implemented, it supported the previous City Council Strategic
Priority of Equity and Inclusion, Goal 2: Practice Respect, Equity, and Inclusion Citywide.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
1. Provide discussion and direction of implementation of a fine free library; and
2. Approve waiver of $61,810.67 in late fines at the Moorpark City Library.
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