News From Jefferson County

Jefferson County Public Library will remain a part of Jefferson County Government. After two evening hearings on the proposed formation of a library district, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted 2-1 not to accept the proposal by the Jefferson County Public Library Board of Trustees to separate from the county and become a library district.

The Commissioners commended the library for the outstanding service it offers the citizens of Jefferson County and the commitment of employees and volunteers of the library. After reviewing all the information presented, the BCC felt it is in the overall best interest of the county to keep the current structure.

Commissioner Kevin McCasky commented at the time of his vote that he believes that the citizens of Jefferson County have benefited greatly from the outstanding library system and that it is a jewel in the crown of Jefferson County. He praised the committed employees and hardworking, dedicated Library Board of Trustees.

Referring to the data that had been presented by the county and library staffs as they each analyzed the potential impacts of a separate district on library employees, county government, library patrons and county citizens, McCasky said he had heard the analyses for almost two years and been struck by the disparity of the data presented; but added "I have heard nothing to convince me that citizens will see an improvement in library services and nothing that compels me to sever the library's positive relationship with the county."

In her vote against the proposal, Commissioner Kathy Hartman said she can understand the library's desire to gain control of both administrative costs and revenues. But her concerns are with the control and accountability to the voters and taxpayers, as a library district board would be appointed and not controlled by a vote of the people and in fact would add another layer of separation. By statute, county commissioners appoint committees that then appoint library district board members unlike other special districts in Colorado where voters directly elect board members.

Hartman also is concerned about library services in the southern portion of the county. More than 100,000 residents live in South Jeffco south of Highway 285 and east of C-470, yet it has only one of the county's 10 libraries. With the library giving Westminster $500,000 a year under the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with that city, the underserved South Jeffco area could get even less service.

Commissioner Jim Congrove cast his vote for the library to separate from the county and form a library district, but did not comment when voting.

In a presentation to the BCC made by Administrative Services Director Todd Leopold and Acting County Attorney Ellen Wakeman, the concerns of county staff regarding financial and service implications were outlined. One negative impact covered in the presentation was that although $4.3 million of costs to the county (like payroll costs) would be transferred to the district, another $510,000 in costs previously shared by the library will remain to be redistributed to all other county departments, affecting the budgets for all other county services. These costs include basic functions of government like accounting, human resources, information technology and others.

Wakeman also discussed the IGA that Westminster would require the library to sign if it becomes a district. The IGA would require the library to pay the city $500,000 per year, increasing in future years, without requiring Westminster to use the money to enhance library services in Jeffco.

Jefferson County Assessor Jim Everson submitted a letter outlining his concerns with the formation of a district, including phasing out county administrative services to the library over five years rather then immediately eliminating them at once; revising the IGA with Westminster to ensure that no funds from the library district would be used for anything other than new library services; and being able to demonstrate that the proposal of a new district is either neutral or positive for Jefferson County taxpayers. He concluded by saying, "I would hope that the County Commissioners would require that these issues be satisfactorily resolved prior to granting approval."

Other Jeffco elected officials also shared their thoughts via a joint letter read by District Attorney Scott Storey who said the proposed district comes at a time when the county is experiencing challenging budget issues. This joint letter had the support of Storey, Sheriff Ted Mink, Treasurer Faye Griffin and Coroner Katherine Loughrey-Stemp. They expressed the common concern that the separation of the library would increase the internal service fund amount attributable to each of the elected official's budgets. "The bottom line is that we will be paying more for services provided by the county, and we will be forced to reduce services to maintain our target budget requirements . . . If the BCC grants the Library Board's request, the Sheriff will be forced to cut an additional $250,000. This will result in a reduction of resources which will have a negative impact on public safety."

Storey said that two years ago when the county realized it had a budget crisis, the elected officials initially hunkered down in their own departments and had a "self-serving attitude" about how the budget crisis would affect only their own areas. But as they worked together through the Organizational Review Committee and other efforts, they developed a team spirit, stepping back and looking at things more holistically. "I look at my responsibilities not just for the DA's office, though that is my primary one, but with the well being of the county as a whole."

A grim picture was presented from the Library Board that, if the library remained as a component of the county, its expenditures would outpace revenues, draining their reserves and making the library unable to serve the citizens and eventually having to close down altogether. However, county staff pointed out that the majority of the cost-saving measures the library was proposing could be done while still within the county system. The savings of $200,000 in cost allocations paid to the county would be more than offset by the $500,000 payment to Westminster, so no operational benefit was inherent to a change to a district. The library provided no specific analysis that showed that creating a district alone would alleviate its budget issue.

The consensus of the Board of County Commissioners and staff, who have worked for the last two years to analyze the impact of the library separating from the county, is that the Jefferson County library system has operated very successfully as a relatively independent unit of Jefferson County government and there is no reason it can't continue to do so. The system has grown and thrived and been noted as one of the best in the state with nearly 20 awards for service and outstanding achievement.

As Jefferson County Administrator Jim Moore stated in his letter to citizens dated June 13, "We are proud of the library services provided to our citizens. Let's not mess with success."