ADVISORY VOTE ON LIBRARY TAX EXPECTED TO GET COUNCIL OK.

Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer

The city is expected to endorse a plan for a countywide advisory vote to determine whether residents should pay a tax to support the financially strapped library district.

However, Mayor Greg Stratton said Friday that Simi Valley is not interested in contributing money to the Ventura County Library Services Agency until ways are found to make it more efficient financially.

``There's nothing wrong about having a vote, and if the county wants to ask people if they want to spend more money on the libraries, it's a fair thing to do,'' he said. ``(But) we're not willing to help the existing library district because it needs to be changed. It needs to be more efficient, and that's been our concern. Don't come and ask us for money if you're going to manage it poorly.''

Dixie Adeniran, director of the library services agency, said she is hoping that member cities like Simi Valley will provide financial assistance to help maintain libraries and extend service hours.

``We need their help to find a solution to our problem. The biggest problem is the severe decline of our revenue level. We can't do it alone anymore.''

Like other libraries in the county, the Simi Valley Library was forced to reduce its hours of operation after the county agency lost millions of dollars in state aid.

As one option, the county is seeking an advisory vote in November to assess public support for a special benefit assessment to provide funding for member libraries, including those in Simi Valley and Moorpark.

Stratton said a tax of between $10 and $20 per parcel could raise between $200,000 and $400,000 from Simi Valley alone.

The City Council is expected to authorize the mayor to sign a letter in support of holding the countywide advisory vote when it meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road. However, the council is not expected to advise residents on how to vote, Stratton said.

Stratton said city funding for the county library system won't likely be supported, until the county completes an audit of the library services agency.

``Until the county understands the results of their audit and have an idea of what it really takes to run the library, there's really no reason for us to have an organization change,'' he said.

Adeniran said she hopes the library services agency and the member cities can reach an agreement soon.

``It's very important for the future provisions of library services that we have some coming together of the various stake holders if we're going to see some improvement,'' she said.