City to Withdraw From County Library

After learning that the services it receives from the Los Angeles County Public Library amount to less than half of the money it pays in, the city of Calabasas has given notice that it will withdraw from the system next year.

A city official said the decision to be the first library to withdraw from the 85-library county system was “nothing personal.” To meet a state deadline, Calabasas made the move now and has until July 1 to consider its options. On that date the city will begin to receive its share of library tax revenue that comes from property taxes paid by residents, estimated to be $530,000.

“I didn’t expect to get exactly as much service as we paid for,” said Mayor Leslie Devine. “It’s a large county and there are some communities that perhaps may not be able to pay as much, you want to help them also. . . . But for the money our citizens are spending, they deserve more than they are getting.”

A report this year by a consultant, Arroyo Associates, found that while the city contributes $26.43 per resident annually to the system, it receives $12.72 per resident in services.

Nancy Mahr, public information officer for the county library, disputed that figure, saying that more than $12.72 is spent per resident.

She said the difference goes into the general fund. If the library in Calabasas were larger, it would receive more money, Mahr said. However, in a case of Catch-22, the county does not have the funds to build a larger library in Calabasas.

Mahr said the county has not yet determined how it will make up the money in its budget, or exactly how much it will be.

City Manager Charles Cate said the storefront library facility on Calabasas Road will remain open until the city determines whether to build a new library.

To maintain the library, the city may either hire staff members or contract with a private company. City officials said they also may ask the county to continue operating the library, while the city would control the money.

Mahr said that because it is the first time the county has encountered such a situation--made possible because of state legislation passed last year--it will have to determine whether that is legally or financially possible.