Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1997 0604 CC REG ITEM 09DITEM 9.1), CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT CITY OF MOORPARK C1ZY OF MOORPAR& CALIFORM City Con cil Mating of 4 199 TO: The Honorable City Council ACTION: FROM: Mary K. Lindley, Assistant to the City Manager DATE: May 29, 1997 (CC Meeting of June 4) SUBJECT: Consider Report From the Library Services Agency Technical Subcommittee Executive Summ ry The City is in receipt of a proposed Plan for the operations and funding of the Ventura County Library Services Agency- The Council is being asked to discuss the Plan, provide comments express its support. Background A Library Services Implementation Committee was formed in January 1996 to enact various governance and service issues identified in the Providence Report. The Committee is comprised of elected officials from the seven cities that receive County library services and two members of the Board of Supervisors. Councilmember Wozniak serves as the City's representative. In February, 1996 the Committee appointed a Technical Subcommittee comprised of city managers. The Subcommittee was tasked with developing a plan that addressed the governance and service issues identified by the Implementation Committee. The task has been completed and the proposed Plan will be presented to the Implementation Committee on June 5. The proposed Plan provides for the following • The library system will remain intact; i e., cities will not attempt to operate independent libraries. • The system will be comprised of eight Library service areas (see Service Area Map). • While individual expenditures and revenue will be tracked by Service Area, for 1997/98 it is agreed that expenditures and revenue will be covered on the system -wide basis. • A Library Service Authority will be established with oversight and review responsibility. The Authority will be comprised of one elected official from each service area, for a total CADOCSIWPDOCS\LIBRRPT_AGD Library Service Report Page 2 of eight representatives, and will recommend Library Services annual budget to the county Board of Supervisors. Changes to the Authority recommendations would require a 4 /5ths vote of the Board of Supervisors The creation of three library categories with baseline hours as follows: Large, open 55 hours per week; Medium, open 40 hours; Small, open 24. Please note the discussion in the report which talks about the debt service for the construction of the libraries in Camarillo and Simi Valley will cost the system $285,600 in 1998 and approximately $214,200 annually through 2002. The Subcommittee spent considerable time discussing responsibility for the debt service, since some cities had initiated building improvements at their own cost, and concluded that in the interest of the system the cost would continue to be spread system -wide and covered by the current fund balance in 1997/98. Lastly, the Subcommittee spent a little time discussing the viability of the neighborhood libraries in the County unincorporated areas, but no recommendation was made. It may be left up to the Implementation Committee to address in the future While not everyone on the Technical Subcommittee was completely satisfied with the end result - everyone had to give up something - everyone agreed that at this time it was in the best interest of the cities and the County to keep the system in tack, to increase hours when ever possible, expand book purchases, and to increase direct service to residents while decreasing the cost of support services. In the end, the residents of Moorpark will see additional hours of operation (40 per week instead of 24), a larger book collection, and hopefully a more responsive library system. It's important to remember that the proposed 1997/98 budget draws down the existing fund balance from $437,800 to $213,293. Therefore; we may be facing a similar situation in FY 1998/99. Additionally, major capital expenditures have not been factored into the budget at this time. In the end, it's still quite clear that additional revenues must be secured in order to fulfill the modest improvements being proposed Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council support the Technical Subcommittee's recommendation. C:\DOCS\WPDOCS\LIBRRPT.AGD ()WZ54 e.