Response to TCH Editorial: Jan. 3, 2012

Today (January 3, 2012), the Tri-City Herald published an editorial criticizing our Board of Trustees. The editorial can be found here: Library's closed meetings thwarting public's interests

Their Editorial Board is upset because of the process Mid-Columbia Libraries took to close the Merrill’s Corner Branch. The Editorial Board takes issue with the following:

(1) Not enough notice was given to customers; and

(2) The Library Board, in the Herald’s opinion, wrongly went into closed session to reconsider their decision.

>> On item (1): At their December 20, 2011, meeting, the Board of Trustees apologized to the petitioners wanting to keep the Merrill’s Corner Branch open. They empathized with the group, and they regretted not giving more advanced notice to the residents of that part of southern Franklin County. They expressed their apologies multiple times.

According to the Editorial Board, “An after-the-fact notification is no substitute for a public process.” They’re right, and we apologized.

The Board of Trustees decided not to fund the Merrill’s Corner Branch in the 2012 Budget. This decision was made in conjunction with the overall budget planning for next year. Looking at Merrill’s Corner usage, we knew that the low number of customers could be well served with Bookmobile services, like our other rural areas with far more population have been for many years. We also knew that this area of southern Franklin County would very likely use the West Pasco Branch to open in September.

At the December 20, 2011, Board meeting, Board member Sandra LePage, who represents rural Franklin County on the Board of Trustees, addressed the concerned citizens, and stated: “Considering the small number of cardholders out there that have used the system during the past year or two, we’re just going to have to go with the Bookmobile in that area.  I’m sorry to tell you that, but we’re charged with fiscal responsibility for public tax funds and sometimes that involves making unpopular, but responsible, decisions. I understand this is a very unpopular thing for us to do to close the library at Merrill’s Corner and substitute Bookmobile services, but for us, it’s the fiscally responsible decision to make.”

>> On item (2): The Editorial Board charges that the Board went into Executive Session at their December 20, 2011 meeting to discuss “personnel issues” and makes the assertion that the Library Board of Trustees sees this exemption- RCW 42.30.110(g) - “for any action that might affect employees.”

This is simply untrue. Because the decision not to fund Merrill’s Corner was incorporated into the 2012 Budget, re-funding the branch would require taking funding from other parts of the budget, and would have caused a chain reaction in the employment status of other specific employees. Herald staff are aware of the specific reason this Executive Session was placed on the agenda.

I agree with the Editorial Board’s assertion that “an [Executive Session Public Meetings Act] exemption for any action that might affect employees is ludicrous on its face.” However, as I told Herald staff, the Library Board’s decision to go into closed session fit within the constraints of the law. According to RCW 42.30.110(g), “When a governing body elects to take final action hiring, setting the salary of an individual employee or class of employees, or discharging or disciplining an employee, that action shall be taken in a meeting open to the public…” The Board followed the law. The Library Board did not go into, make a decision, or take a vote in Executive session using an erroneous citation of law. Herald staff appear to have issue with the application of the law- or even the law itself.

According to the Editorial Board, “After [the Executive Session] Director Kyle Cox read from a ‘prepared’ statement that the board understood the community's feelings and had listened to its concerns.” This is completely false: I never read from a prepared statement after the Board came out of Executive Session. This information came from an email I sent to Herald staff days after the Board meeting to provide follow-up information on the meeting.

In reality, after coming out of Executive Session, Board discussion resumed publicly, and Board member Sandra LePage expressed her opinion on the situation—to keep the Merrill’s Corner Branch closed, to provide Bookmobile services to the area, and to consider increasing Bookmobile services depending on usage and demand. Another Board member seconded this and the Board adopted this position after further discussion—all in an open, public meeting.

The Editorial Board, in a final shot, charged: “Making decisions about the public's money in a vacuum has become an infection with this board. Either this board just doesn't understand the open meetings law or it is in contempt of it.”

Neither of these things are true—but it’s more newsworthy if they were.

The decision to close the Merrill’s Corner Branch was based completely on using the public’s money in the most responsible way possible, to serve the most people, and to do the most good with the resources we have. On December 20, the Board went into Executive Session for a very specific purpose, which fits within the constraints of the law. The Board is highly mindful of the Public Meetings Act, and when the specific topic had been discussed, the Board quickly moved out of Executive Session, and continued their discussion in an open, public meeting.

As I told Herald staff, we have an ethical, principled Board of Trustees, who acted in good faith, and applied the law as they understood it. There is nothing nefarious or contemptuous in their actions. Had Herald staff been at the meeting, they would have seen that.

>> In retrospect: If we were to do it again, we would have given residents far more notice and opportunity to voice their concerns and viewpoints. We would have also spent more time informing customers of the strengths of our well-used and beloved Bookmobile as well as the features and benefits of the West Pasco Branch. I am personally sorry we did not do more to inform these residents. We should have done more, and we should have done it much earlier. However, we did not violate public meeting laws. We have learned from this process and are committed to providing residents of southern Franklin County with quality library services through our Bookmobile and West Pasco Branch.

Most sincerely,  

Kyle P. Cox, Executive Director