VENTURA : Pledge to Help Fund Libraries Withheld

The city of Ventura has decided to withhold any monetary pledges toward its local libraries until officials know exactly what the county intends to do with library funding, which is threatened with the budget ax.

“The city has made the hard decision to make hard cuts for a certain quality of life,” Councilman Gregory L. Carson said, referring to the cuts in the fire and police departments Ventura made last year.

He noted that county supervisors have so far declared such departments off-limits to cutting.

“Now, we want the county to make hard decisions,” Carson said.

County library officials have asked the city of Ventura for more than $200,000 in supplemental funding next year to extend the operating hours of Wright and E.P. Foster libraries. Without the additional money, the county may consider consolidating services to one location, officials said.

But Councilman Steve Bennett said if the city promises funds now, the county may relax and decide libraries are an area where they can definitely cut some fat. The supervisors’ final budget hearings begin July 25.

“We want to let people know this is a crisis, and hopefully, they will mobilize and put some pressure on the county,” he said.