CITY LEADERS SKIP LIBRARY MEETING, SKEPTICAL OF REFORMS.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

The three biggest players in the 16-branch county library system boycotted the first meeting of a coalition created to overhaul the beleaguered agency, saying they doubt Ventura County's commitment to solving its problems.

Simi Valley, Ventura and Camarillo representatives were conspicuously absent from Thursday night's inaugural meeting of the Library Services Implementation Committee. Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said civic leaders won't participate until the county shows it is truly committed to a top-to-bottom overhaul of the agency, which has been the target of fierce criticism and drastic cuts in state funding.

``So far it's all been so fuzzy - it looks like all they want to do is play with the edges,'' said Stratton, an outspoken critic of the library services agency. ``Until the Board of Supervisors makes some critical decisions, there's no reason for the implementation committee to meet.''

But Supervisor Frank Schillo, who submitted a plan Thursday that would break the system into locally controlled service areas, said the three cities should help determine what decisions should be made.

``It doesn't make any sense,'' Schillo said. ``We're trying to address their concerns and we need them in the process. You can't develop a proposal to involve the cities without them at the table.''

The impasse comes two months after a Texas-based consultant released a 140-page report recommending that the district be broken up, administration costs slashed and local governments given more responsibility for their neighborhood libraries.

County library officials responded with proposed reforms they said would double hours of operation but eliminate such extras as literacy instruction and children's programs.

Stratton said he fears the announced changes amount to little more than an entrenched bureaucracy scrambling to save itself.

``I don't believe the management of the current library system is capable of doing what needs to be done,'' he said. ``We're not interested in just pouring more money into a system that doesn't work.''

Schillo said he will seek a firm commitment to reform from the Board of Supervisors during its scheduled meeting Tuesday. But he said city officials should not expect to be given complete authority over the reform process.

``I'm not going to give the committee 100 percent power - no one in his right mind would do that,'' Schillo said. ``We don't know what they'll come up with. The bottom line is that if they don't like what we're doing they should come to the meetings and tell us why not.''

But Stratton said the largest cities in the system, which contribute the most tax revenue and have been hit hardest by reductions over the past five years, must be assured that changes will be meaningful.

``We need to know they're serious about doing something and not just holding hands and chewing the fat,'' Stratton said. ``It's time to trade in the car and get a new one - It's not the time to get a wax job and four new tires.''