County Gives Support to a Rescue Plan for Libraries

A rescue plan for the financially strapped county library system that would include asking voters to approve a new parcel tax in November won support from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The board gave preliminary approval to formation of a joint powers authority that would transfer much of the control of the library system to the cities now served by its branches.

But the key element of the plan calls for a ballot initiative that would ask property owners to establish a benefit assessment district to help support their libraries. If approved, property owners would be levied an estimated $25 to $30 annual tax.

“I’m hoping that we can come up with a solution by this fall so that we don’t have to close any libraries,” said board Chairman Frank Schillo, who spearheaded the restructuring plan. “We’re hoping we can do that. But it’s not easy.”

Indeed, Schillo’s proposal is contingent upon the cooperation of area cities, some of which have expressed reservations about participation in a joint powers authority. The tax would not apply in cities such as Thousand Oaks, which already runs its own library system, or Ojai, which has approved its own library tax.

Schillo said the next step will be for cities to decide whether they will participate in the authority.

At the same time, he said, the county will hire a consultant to determine exactly how the authority would operate and manage the new library system. The board Tuesday agreed to spend between $50,000 and $100,000 for a consultant.

Beyond the structure of the new library system, questions remain over whether county voters would support establishment of a benefit assessment district, and even whether the county has the legal authority to set up such a district.

Jere Robings, executive director of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers, reminded supervisors Tuesday that El Dorado County was recently sued for attempting a similar action.

“I think this information should be put out to the public, so that there are not unfounded hopes on the part of library supporters,” Robings said.

County Counsel Jim McBride said the El Dorado case has not been resolved and therefore it is not clear how Ventura County might be affected.

“There’s been no decision on this, and it is not likely to be resolved for several months,” McBride said, adding that the county does not have much time if it wants to place a measure on the November ballot.

At issue in the El Dorado case is whether that county is using the assessment district to circumvent Proposition 13, a 1978 statewide initiative that placed strict limits on the amount of taxes that could be levied on property owners.

Under Proposition 13, new property taxes require a two-thirds majority vote for approval.

But by establishing an assessment district, Ventura County could potentially win approval for its library tax with 51% of the vote. The reason, McBride said, is that the “assessment” is not technically considered a tax.

The difference between the two is that an assessment can be shown to provide a direct benefit to affected property owners, he said.

In any event, Schillo said, the county’s intent is not to sneak a new tax past the voters, but rather to ask their help in putting together another revenue source to rescue area libraries.

“I know there are some people that say, ‘We don’t want an extra tax,’ ” Schillo said. “I understand that. This is just a way to find out how the majority of the public feels. We need to have some resolution to the library situation.”

Because of state budget cuts, the county library system has lost nearly half its $10-million annual budget. County supervisors have spent more than $2 million in recent years supplementing the library budget, but say they can no longer afford to continue the practice. Without that subsidy or some new source of funding, library officials have warned they will soon have to close several library branches.

Dixie Adeniran, director of the county Library Services Agency, said she was encouraged by the board’s action Tuesday, saying it ensures that city and county officials will at least discuss the library crisis together.

“It’s a very positive action,” she said. “It gives me hope for the future.”

Adeniran said she is confident a library tax would be successful if levied through an assessment district. Although eight previous library tax initiatives in various cities throughout the county failed to garner a required two-thirds vote, Adeniran noted that all of the measures had received better than a 50% majority.

“I think there is a very good chance it [an assessment district] would be approved,” she said.

For now, the county will concentrate on finding a consultant to study the joint powers proposal. After completion of the consultant’s study, each participant can decide whether it wants to continue its partnership in the library authority. Schillo said there would be a 90-day “escape clause” in the final joint powers agreement for those cities that wish to discontinue their membership.

Supervisor John Flynn and his colleagues on the board praised Schillo for coming up with what they believe will be a successful library plan.

“I think what you’ve done is hit a stand-up triple,” Flynn said. “And I think the home run is coming.”