County Board OKs Library Overhaul

A plan that revamps the way the county’s beleaguered library system does business was approved Tuesday by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

The board’s vote follows similar actions by the cities of Ventura, Moorpark, Camarillo and Fillmore, which all have approved the move to slash overhead costs in the Library Services Agency in order to expand hours and give cities more control over book budgets and hours.

Simi Valley, Port Hueneme and Ojai have yet to consider the plan. But officials estimate that the library system’s administrative overhaul could be in effect by September.

The board’s 4-0 vote, with Supervisor Judy Mikels absent, did not come without some discussion.

Three members of the board balked at a separate proposal by Supervisor Frank Schillo, which would have expanded hours at the Oak Park library to 40 hours a week when other branches of comparable size are proposed to stay open just 24 hours weekly.

Schillo argued that it was only fair, considering that more than half the property taxes used to fund libraries in unincorporated county areas come from Oak Park.

His colleagues disagreed and refused to consider the proposal, saying it threatened to undercut the delicate library agreement negotiated by the seven participating cities and the county in recent months.

The plan would break the county into eight library districts--one for each city served by the county library system and one for the branches that sit in unincorporated county areas.

Its main tenet is to keep most of the property tax dollars within the cities where they are generated while still maintaining the smaller branches.

A library advisory panel with one elected official from the county and one from each city would oversee the system. The Board of Supervisors would need a four-fifths vote to override any decision the panel makes.

Supervisors will consider naming their advisory panel representative at a later date.