SONOMA COUNTY LIBRARY JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

Transcription

1 SONOMA COUNTY LIBRARY JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT REVIEW ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING ***** SUMMARY MINUTES**** FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, :00 PM TO 5:00 PM SONOMA COUNTY PERMIT & RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT HEARING ROOM AT 2550 VENTURA AVE, SANTA ROSA, CA A. 3 p.m. Call to Order. CAO Veronica Ferguson acted as the meeting chair since one was yet to be appointed by the Committee. The meeting started on time at 3 p.m. B. Review and Approve Proposed Agenda No changes or additions C. Business Items: 1) Introductions - roster attached No absences. CAO Veronica Ferguson coordinate the introductions, which included one thing you love about the Library from each member committee - see exhibit 1. 2) Select Committee Chair and Vice Chair Board of Supervisors McGuire selected as the Committee Chair and John Dell Osso as the vice-chair. 3) Receive Basic High Level Overview of the Library s JPA and FY Budget - 2 page summary attached County Administrator Analyst Christina Rivera provided overview. County Counsel Ann Keck noted that at this time it is unclear whether Sebastopol and Rohnert Park are parties to the agreement or not. County Counsel review of the JPA will focus in getting clarification. 4) Discuss Committee s Purpose and Objective: Membership, Governance Facilities, Other County Administrator staff documented the committee s and the public input on issues and areas of interest to be considered as part of the JPA review. See exhibit 2. Page 1 of 3

2 5) Establish Review Timeline and Approve future meetings date and location including an all-day tour of Library branches Timeline presented identifying April 2013 as the month for the group to develop recommendations to update the JPA. Library Tour will be organized and committee member participations. A recommendation listing the tour logistics will be developed by County staff and sent out to committee members for consideration. County Administrator Ferguson remarked the tour will be subject to the Brown Act; thus, members of the public may participate. A central location to hold meetings is preferred. The following are the future meeting dates approved by the committee: Date Time Location Tentative Thursday, November 29, 2012 Voluntary All day Library Tour Friday, November 30, p.m. December Date Friday, January 25, p.m. Friday, February 22, p.m. Friday, March 29, p.m. Friday, April 26, p.m. If necessary: Friday, May 24, p.m. In order to meet the April 2013 target of completing recommendations, the Committee agreed to consider an ad-hoc format to conduct review work depending on the issue. 6) Establish Next Meeting Agenda and consider suggestions received: State of the Library Overview by Library Director Tour of Library Branches Presentation of Library Commission s suggested JPA document and governance structure changes Chair, and Vice-chair, and Library Commission Chair will be responsible for establishing Agendas. For the 11/29/12 meeting the following items will be considered: Approve proposed December meeting date Page 2 of 3

3 Review the Committee developed review objectives to design and organize the Committee s workload. Library Commission s recommended changes to the JPA document Receive County Tax Division overview of the Library s tax apportionment 7) Other No additional items added D. Public Comment for matters not on the agenda Any member of the audience desiring to address the Committee please state your name and make your comments. In order that all interested parties have an opportunity to speak, please be brief and limit your comments to 3 minutes. Time limitations are at the discretion of the Chair. Comments by public members present but name not documented: use of microphone by committee members for better audio, establish a way for the public to send comments to committee, and set the committee tables in an opened shape Bob Simmons (29-year Library Employee) read his summary JPA Defense, and submitted an electronic copy of his statement. See exhibit 3 Roger Pearson suggested the committee look at other counties libraries as part of the review process Irene Rosario (SEIU representative) - stated her goal is to present employees concerns to the committee and doesn t have an interest to dissolve the JPA. Instead is looking for more oversight and community input. Please refer to exhibit 2 to see other public comments. E. Meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Enclosures: Business Item C1 - Committee Roster Business Item C3 - Library Overview Exhibit 1 - One Thing You Love about the Library (statements from the Committee members) Exhibit 2 - Committee s Purpose, Objectives, and Concerns (includes public input comments) Exhibit 3 - JPA Defense by Bob Simmons (public comment) Page 3 of 3

4 Sonoma County Library JPA Review Advisory Committee ROSTER 10/26/2012 Business Item # 1 Agency City of Cloverdale City of Cotati Appointee Name Bob Cox (Primary) Joe Palla (Alternate) John Dell Osso (Primary) Title Mayor Vice Mayor Councilmember Term Expires Dec Dec Nov Dianne Thompson (Alternate) City Manager City of Healdsburg City of Petaluma Marjie Pettus Teresa Barrett (Primary) City Manager Councilmember Dec Scott Brodhun (Alternate) Asst. City Manager City of Rohnert Park City of Santa Rosa City of Sebastopol City of Sonoma Amy Ahanotu Jennifer Phillips Sarah Glade Gurney Linda Kelly (Primary) Carol Giovanatto (Alternate) Councilmember Asst. City Manager Councilmember City Manager Asst. City Manager Dec Nov Town of Windsor David Kelley Asst. Town Manager Library Commission Julia Freis Helena Whistler (Alternate) Commission Chair Commissioner Feb Jan Co. of Sonoma Mike McGuire (Primary) District 4 Supervisor Dec Efren Carrillo (Alternate) District 5 Supervisor Dec. 2016

5 10/26/12 Business Item # 3 Sonoma County Library LIBRARY BUDGET 1. Adopted Budget FY Expenditure Appropriations $16.1 million 2. FY Adopted Budget funding comes from: (a) an average 0.02% of property tax, which varies widely amongst specific Tax Rate Areas, for a total $13.9 million ( 44.7% county, 24.9% Santa Rosa, and 30.4% from remaining cities); (b) $1.1 million from fund balance including gifts & donations; and (c) $1.1 million from Fines, Fees & Miscellaneous. 3. FY total full time equivalent employees: service branches: Central SR, Cloverdale, Forestville, Guerneville, Healdsburg, NW Santa Rosa, Occidental, Petaluma, Rincon Valley, Rohnert Park - Cotati, Sebastopol, Sonoma Valley, and Windsor. JPA CHRONOLOGY County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, and the Library Trustees entered into a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) resulting in the Santa Rosa-Sonoma County Free Public Library System. JPA assigned the Board of Trustees of the City Library the administration responsibility including Cloverdale, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and the unincorporated areas of the county Based on Board of Supervisors direction the County Administrator completed a report on Alternative Methods of Organizing a County-Wide Library System, with the goal of providing services to all of the citizens of the county through an equitable method of representation and financing. Library branches at that time were: Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Guerneville, Sebastopol, Rohnert Park-Cotati, Petaluma, and Sonoma. The recommendation were: 1. Form a county-wide district under Education Code Section Propose to voters a district tax rate ceiling of $0.25 under SB Make available on a matching basis county revenue sharing to cities for construction of buildings in Sebastopol, Sonoma, Petaluma, RP-Cotati, Cloverdale, Guerneville, and Healdsburg. Cost estimate share 32% by City and 68% by County. (Partially implemented). 4. Retain City of SR ownership of the Central Library and lease it to the district (due to bond requirements), while all other branches ownership title be vested in the district. (Included in 1975 JPA) Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and County of Sonoma executed JPA for Consolidation of Public Library Facilities among Cities in the County and the County-wide provision of services by the Sonoma County Library. Main agreements: Sonoma County Library Overview P a ge 1

6 a) Established and administered as a separate Public Agency under the meaning of Sections 6506 and 6507 of the Government Code and Section of the Education Code. See exhibit A - note codification for not located. b) Governed by the Library Commission appointed for 4 years as follows: 1 by Santa Rosa Council, 1 by Petaluma Council, and 5 by the Board of Supervisors. c) Commission authority to appoint Library Director d) Approval of annual budget by the Board of Supervisors e) Report on or before August 31 of each year to the Board of Supervisors and the State Librarian the condition of the Library for the year ending June 30 th f) Endeavor to equalize services to all residents based on 1973 CAO Report g) Lease Central Library building from the owner (City of SR) h) Commission to maintain and operate, based on availability of funds, the following buildings: Cloverdale, Rohnert Park-Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Guerneville. Where the Board of Supervisors provided $1.25 million in federal revenue sharing for facilities construction. i) Continue Library tax levy j) Establish Advisory Boards to develop recommendations to the Director and the Commission k) Amending JPA agreement must be done by unanimous consent of all agreement parties l) Termination by signatories must be done in writing to all other parties prior to January 1 st in any fiscal year to be effective on June 30 th of the same fiscal year. JPA agreement attached as Exhibit B. END OF DOCUMENT Sonoma County Library Overview P a ge 2

7 10/26/2012 Meeting Minutes - Exhibit 1 Sonoma County Library Joint Powers Agreement Review Advisory Committee One Thing You Love About the Library (Transferred from handwritten newsprint pages as stated by Committee and staff members) 1. Another living room/study room 2. Reading with Fido and kids (prior experience outside Sonoma County where Library program included children reading to a dog) 3. Community Gathering Place 4. Serves all segments of the community regardless of socio-economic status 5. Most visited building in town 6. Gathering grounds 7. Is where all the books are 8. Financed his UC education (committee member was employed by the Library while attending college) 9. Embodiment of the 1 st Amendment - Freedom of Speech 10. Keeper of History 11. Gateway to Adventure/Love Touching Books 12. From newspapers to new building 13. Multiple sites yield convenient access

8 10/26/2012 Meeting Minutes - Exhibit 2 Sonoma County Library Joint Powers Agreement Review Advisory Committee FACILITIES Discussion of Committee s Purpose, Objectives, and Concerns (Transferred from handwritten newsprint pages as stated by Committee members, some member alternates, and the public. Further organized into categories) GOVERNANCE a) Mechanism to improve facilities a) Commission membership to include all cities b) Some facilities don t have lease agreements b) Defines roles c) Equity in the repair and maintenance c) Independence of the Library System - shelter from d) Define maintenance of buildings political influence responsibilities d) Build greater accountability of the Library e) Appeal process for facilities discussions and Commissioners other applicable items e) Celebrate Commissioners volunteerism FINANCES/FISCAL a) Protect existing funding b) Ability to implement a funding measure c) More $s for the Library d) Don t endangered funding with JPA changes e) Have an option for community to pay for additional services based on local needs TECHNOLOGY a) Leverage resources - use technology to stay current SERVICES a) Staffing levels - equity across branches b) Equity of service and accessibility - union of branches - One size fits all c) Retain differences - communities are not identical. Meet needs of the specific community. One size doesn t fit all d) Define equity of services e) Public access - hours of operations f) Define baseline services so that when increased $s are available expanded services can be considered OTHER a) Collaborative efforts and shared services within jurisdictions to achieve economy of scales b) Library staff to elect a JPA Review Committee member c) Formal process to collect Library Advisory Boards advice d) Include Library staff & Library User perspective e) Have a Staff Day open communication f) Continue a viable model for donors to continue their support. Currently, about ~4,000 voluntary sources

9 Sonoma County JPA Review Advisory Committee 10/26/2012 Meeting Minutes Exhibit 3 In Defense of the JPA Intro. Hello, my name is Bo Simons. I have worked for the Sonoma County Library for 29 years. I have served under five directors, from the first Sonoma County Library Director to the present. I have been reference librarian, Assistant Coordinator of Adult Services, Wine Librarian, Internet Librarian and I am currently Branch Manager of the Healdsburg Regional Library. Before Sonoma County Library, I have worked in libraries in Roseville, Orange County, and the Palos Verdes Library District. I know first hand how different library systems operate. I want to state emphatically that the Sonoma County Library s status as a Joint Powers Agency is a good thing, politically, economically and morally. It has insured a high level of uniform service throughout the county. It has been essential in preserving the intellectual freedom towards which American public libraries strive but so often do not attain under other more politically vulnerable models. It s good for Sonoma County cities, allowing each have wonderful high level library service they would be unable to even approach on their own. It s good for the county, freeing the county from the costs of management, building upkeep, personnel and IT, let alone basic or good library service, costs the county would incur if the library were a county department. Intellectual Freedom. On a weekly basis we have challenges to library materials. For some reason or other some concerned person or group has a problem with a book, magazine or service. This book gives my child nightmares, it is too left wing, too religious, not morally sound, too violent, too pornographic. It is always someone else the concerned citizen or group wants to protect. The library listens to those concerns, explains the selection and collection building policies and defends its choices. Were the hire and fire of the library director put in the hands of elected officials, subject to the concerted efforts of organized groups out to restrict or determine library collections, I think it would be a bad thing for the library. Look at the movie Storm Center, filmed in Santa Rosa, starring Bette Davis, and set in the McCarthy-era 50 s for a cautionary tale of mob mentality hurting the library. Proven Over Time. The JPA has allowed Sonoma County s citizens to enjoy good libraries in good times and bad, surviving threats to its funding. As property taxes fall, economies must be made, and the current director made hard choices that have not been popular. Hours were cut. I hate the hours being cut, but maybe it is better than branches closed, people laid off or materials budgets slashed. That is debatable, and it is not my place to weigh in on that. Unfortunate things marred the director s ability to weather unpopular decisions. The union allied itself with a group of well intentioned citizens and seized upon the JPA as a mechanism for correcting what they do not like about the library. Don t believe it. Changing the JPA will hurt the library and the citizens. The cities, especially Healdsburg and Sonoma think modifying the JPA will solve their money problems. Don t believe it. Everybody is hurting for money. Live up to your agreements. If cities have to pay even a fraction of what the library costs, they will be tripling or quadrupling their outlay for library services. Do what you will to change the library s responsiveness, look to existing mechanisms to guide the library. Please keep the library responsive, vibrant and a bastion of good government. Do not change the JPA. Look into the all you want. I think you will find it is visionary, good government, sound fiscal policy and the best way to run a library in Sonoma County.