Politics & Government

Los Altos/LAH Secession From Library District, Take Two?

'Self-serving' votes by the cities of Cupertino, Gilroy, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and county Supervisor Mike Wasserman prompts exploration of new partnerships or stand-alone library costs.

 

By a 3-2 margin, the Los Altos City Council voted Tuesday night to explore what it would cost to join cities that operate their own libraries, such as Palo Alto and Mountain View, or go it alone. 

Mayor Val Carpenter, who in the past opposed the idea of leaving the county library district, led the spirited discussion of the proposal she wrote with Councilmember David Casas.

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Carpenter has had a change heart, after looking at the figures—and being at the losing end of a decidedly uncollegial vote last month by the Joint Powers Authority, which governs the library district.

Los Altos and Los Altos Hills contribute $620,000 to nearly $1.47 million more than other communities in the district, depending on underlying assumptions, according to Los Altos Hills Councilmember Jean Mordo, a former chief financial officer of a publicly traded company.

Find out what's happening in Los Altoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Yet they get less out of the district, according to the complex funding formula used divvy resources to the libraries serving Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, the unincorporated county residents and the Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and unincorporated Santa Clara County.

A task force of the Joint Powers Authority recommended to maintain the current funding formula. It offered an alternative "Five Percent Threshhold" proposal that would kick in only when the assessed valuation exceeds the calculated formula by five percent. In those cases, the share for that community would be increased. The JPA Finance Committee also recommended the alternative.

The threshhold, it turns out, has been exceeded twice so far, in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. The additional amount the Los Altos libraries would receive would total $66,000.

But representatives of Cupertino, Gilroy, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and county Supervisor Mike Wasserman voted against it, leaving in the minority Campbell, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and county Supervisor Liz Kniss, who voted for alternative. (Milpitas was not present for the vote.)

That smack in the face, apparently, did not sit well.

"I have to say I’m disappointed with the actions of the JPA board, but not surprised," Carpenter said. Some on the board were running for re-election, and this was before the election, she noted.

Casas said the amount was a minor impact to those communities, but it needed to be compared to the $600,000 to $1.5 million that it costs our residents."

Council members Megan Satterlee and Jarrett Fishpaw voted against the proposal, Satterlee because she felt there were unfinished goals the council and staff still had to do, including a new fire contract. Fishpaw said he wasn't willing to go further down the path just because other communities wouldn't give up $66,000. 

Council member Ron Packard said it was a good investment of time and energy because the county's costs in pensions and health care could cost the cities heavily some day. Casas concurred.

Resident David Smith urged the council to explore the idea, and get data on the costs of running a stand-alone library operation to establish a baseline. That was the only way it could look clearly at options without being swayed so much by emotion, he said.

The task force members, as outlined in the proposal, would be one council member each from Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, the city managers of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, two representatives from the Los Altos Library Commission (residents of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, respectively), a representative each from the Friends of the Los Altos Library and the Los Altos Library Endowment (residents of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, respectively), a resident of Los Altos not currently serving on any of the above bodies.

In other business, the City Council appointed resident Duncan MacVicar as its representative on the Los Altos School District Superintendant's Task Force on Enrollment Growth, a body that will meet over the winter and spring to make recommendations on how to handle student enrollment growth. The task force would also tackle the challenges of a long-term plan to house Bullis Charter School students.

Other applicants included Jon Baer, who recently ran for City Council, Carol Millie and Nancy Tucker. Satterlee said that she was impressed by the caliber of the community members who wanted to try to help solve a very difficult problem. Others said they hoped that the other applicants would assist MacVicar in 


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