Agenda Item A.4
CONSENT CALENDAR
Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
SUBMITTED BY: JoAnne Plummer, Neighborhood Services Director PREPARED BY: Elizabeth Saucedo, City Librarian
SUBJECT: Approval of the 2024-2025 Agreement for Operation of a Free Countywide Library System
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve and authorize the Mayor to execute an Agreement for Operation of a Free Countywide Library Syst em for Fiscal Year 202 4-2025 between the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Goleta.
BACKGROUND:
On June 30, 2024, Goleta completed its fifth year of administering all libraries within Zone 4 of the Santa Barbara Countywide Library System (“Countywide Library System"). Zone 4 includes the City of Goleta, the unincorporated areas of the Eastern Goleta Valley, Community Service Area 3 (CSA-3), Isla Vista, Gaviota, Hope Ranch, the City of Solvang, the City of Buellton, and all the unincorporated areas of the Santa Ynez Valley. For visual reference, Exhibit A to Attachment 1 provides a map of Library Zone 4.
As one of the five designated administrators that provide library services in Santa Barbara County, the City of Goleta is required to enter into an agreement with the County for the operation of the County wide Library System. The Agreement for Operation of a Countywide Library System (“Agreement”) is provided for Fiscal Year 202 4-2025 in Attachment 1. The County Board of Supervisors approved the Agree ment on December 17, 2024.
DISCUSSION:
The Agreement recommended for approval and execution provides for the continued funding of Library services for all Santa Barbara County residents and designates the cities of Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Santa Maria, Goleta, and Carpinteria as administrators of County Library Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
As the Administrator for Zone 4, the City of Goleta is responsible for providing library services to the residents in that zone. For FY 2024-2025, the serv ice population is 1 Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
approximately 109,752, which includes the areas served by the libraries in the Santa Ynez Valley.
County per Capita funding and Measure L funds, in addition to the City’s General Fund, enable the Goleta Valley Library to meet its annual budgetary needs. According to the Agreement, in FY 202 4-2025, the Goleta Valley Library can expect to receive approximately $ 582,846 in County per Capita funding ($ 9.15 per inhabitant, which includes a 3% CPI). The Goleta Valley Library also expects to receive approximately $686,180 from Measure L tax funds collected within the City of Goleta and most parts of the unincorporated Co mmunity Service Area (CSA -3). These fund s are a result of the passage of Measure L by the voters. The County has also separately accounted for the money received by Goleta for the Isla Vista area County per Capita, at $ 234,515, and provided $12,500 in Small Library Funds for Isla Vista, bringing their total to $247,015.
The Santa Ynez Valley libraries, which the City manages on a full -cost-recovery basis, are funded and accounted for separately. The City of Goleta will receive the County per Capita funding for the Cities of Buellton and Solvang , which amounts to $ 93,435 for Buellton and $ 93,435 for Solvang. In addition, the County voted to help the two cities meet minimum standards of library service by awarding a total of $167,928, which will be received by the City of Goleta and applied toward those cities’ library revenues. The remainder of the revenues for the Buellton and Solvang budgets consist of those cities’ General Fund support and their Friends of the Library1 Groups’ donations. Los Olivos and Santa Ynez operate on a zero budget and ar e run solely by volunteers. Exhibit B to Attachment 1 provides the Maintenance and Repair Responsibilities f or County facilities like the Solvang Library facility, which is owned by the County (unlike the Goleta and Buellton library facilities, which are owned by the respective cities).
The Assistant City Manager has sent a letter to the cities of Buellton and Solvang formally accepting their requests to extend the Library Management Services agreements with those cities for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. These agreements cover service provision, facility use, and maintenance, among other things. The initial one-year agreements with Buellton and Solvang provided for five optional one -year extensions upon agreement of both parties. Since the expiration of these agreements on June 30, 2024, services have been provided pending the finalization of this funding agreement with the County of Santa Barbara.
GOLETA STRATEGIC PLAN:
City-Wide Strategy: Support Community Vitality and Enhanced Recreational Opportunities
Strategic Goal: 2.5 Support the Goleta Library as a robust community resource.
City-Wide Strategy: Ensure Financial Stability
1 These are the Friends of the Library of the Santa Ynez Valley and the Friends of the Buellton Library.
The Goleta Valley Library also has an active Friends of the Goleta Valley Library group that provides annual funding support to that Library location.
2 Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
Strategic Goal: 3.7 Leverage longstanding partnerships for well-funded and cost-effective library services.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Under the terms and conditions of this contract, the City of Goleta , as Administrator of Zone 4, will receive the following amounts:
Library
Branch
FY 24-25
$9.15 Base –
Per Capita
FY 24-25
Cannabis/GFC
Funding
FY 24-25
Small Library
Fund
Total
County
Funding
Goleta 582,846 - - 582,846
Isla Vista 234,515 - 12,500 247,015
Buellton 93,435 71,777 - 165,212
Solvang 93,435 96,151 - 189,586
Zone 4 Total 1,004,231 167,928 12,500 $1,184,659
The City of Goleta will also receive approximately $686,180 in Measure L funds collected within the unincorporated CSA-3 to be used solely for the Goleta Valley Library.
ALTERNATIVES:
As one of the designated administrators that provides services in Santa Barbara County, the City of Goleta is required to enter into an Agreement with the County for the operation of the County wide Library System. If the City Council were to elect not to approve and authorize the Mayor to execute the Agreement, this could delay or possibly discontinue receiving County per Capita funding for Goleta, Buellton, and Solvang Libraries and the Bookvan.
LEGAL REVIEW BY: Isaac Rosen, Acting City Attorney
APPROVED BY: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. FY 202 4-2025 Agreement for Operation of a Free Countywide Library System (including Exhibits A and B)
3 ATTACHMENT 1
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