John Musolf saw fit to resign from the committee as he felt his rationale of turning the library over to Pima County was the fiscally responsible thing to do, but his pleas consistently fell on "deaf ears."
Allistair Innes, a long time "Friend of the Library," was in the forefront of having Oro Valley keep control, and try to find a way to alleviate the double, and possible triple taxation concerns of many citizens.
Here are the two letters. We should note, John's letter was shortened dramatically by the Explorer. We will give you the "unedited version" below.
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Sordid tale of library friends letter campaign
A number of weeks ago, I wrote a Letter to the Editor recommending that the Town of Oro Valley turn over the operation of the Oro Valley Library to the Pima County Library District. This was based on the fact that Oro Valley taxpayers pay double taxation for the operation of the OV library (library tax to Pima County and OV general fund tax money). The Town manager is predicting OV budget shortfalls for 2009/2010 and 3 years beyond for the general fund and that money could be used to alleviate the budget shortfalls.
I would like to state that I am a registered voter of Pima County and the state of Arizona. I am also a taxpayer of Pima County and the state of Arizona. I do have a summer home where I visit some of my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
When the Explorer News published two letters in response to my letter, the Explorer did not know that the “Friends of the Oro Valley Library” had concocted a letter writing campaign (conspiracy) to attempt to discredit my letter. On the “Friends of Oro Valley Website”, the “Friends” had written:
"Someone must respond to John Musolf's letter in the Explorer. It can't be me, but I have written one that anyone could redo as their own. Please e-mail the board and ask if someone will do this. I will get the letter to them. Have them call me 825-xxxx".
"Apparently xxxx has a neighbor who is going to sign off on the article. I guess this avoids any comments from the public that it is a Friends of the Library article."
This chat information has since been deleted from the “Friends Website”. However, the whole sordid story can be read by going to the Let Oro Valley Excel Blog website. (http://www.letorovalleyexcel.blogspot.com)
I do not have any problem with the two ladies voicing their “own” opinion on the content of my letter. This is assuming it was their opinion and not something “ghost-written” for them. I have written a comparison between the two letters and some of the same language, numbers and talking points in the letters reek of collusion. The words “our” and “we” appear repeatedly in the context of their letters referring to the “Friends of the Library”.
I did not know that the “Friends” were responsible for the operation of the OV library.
Additionally, neither letter discusses or refutes the double taxation statement I made in my letter.
The “Friends of the Library” is a 501(c)(3) legal organization. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to limits or absolute prohibitions on engaging in political activities. In my opinion, trying to influence (lobbying) the passing of a resolution to support the OV Library out of general funds certainly borders on being “unethical”, if not “downright breaking the law” concerning political activities.
My suggestion to address the issue of turning over the OV library to Pima County would be to place the issue on the ballot and let the Oro Valley voters decide what the best course of action would be. We did this the “old-fashioned Democratic way” with the Naranja Town Park!
The first letter from Judith Kuehl was filled with many misrepresentations and conjectures:
“Mr. Musolf appears to want us to give away a $7 million asset”.
Where did Judith come up with the $7 million dollar asset figure? The Pima County Library District funded $2 million of the original construction cost and $1.1 million of the library expansion and currently owns 50% of the building.
“The current library district tax for 2009-2010 is projected to be $1.8 million (not $2.35 million), of which approximately one-third is returned to the town to help run the library”.
At the time my letter was published the library district tax was 2.35 million. The Pima County administrator just recently changed the tax rate so that the new tax is 1.8 million. So evidently, Pima County returning only one-third is just as acceptable as returning one-quarter of our taxes.
“If we become a branch of said system, could our locally purchased books be fed into the county and permanently lost to our local facility? Can we stand to lose as much as 30 percent of our locally purchased books, many of which are bought by our Friends of the Library and not from town funds”?
In 2006, Tucson turned over the operation of 23 libraries and their books to the Pima County Library District. There was no mass drainage from any of the branches to another branch. Judith is also implying that once the Friends of the Library make a donation that they want to keep complete control over “their books”.
I also find the words “many of which are bought by our Friends of the Library and not from town funds” questionable! When the library first opened their doors where does Judith think the original collection that fills over 95% of the OV shelves come from? The answer is Pima County Library District.
“Pima County officials would be setting policy for our local library, and the employees would not be answerable to the OV Town Council, even though they are employed in our OV facility”.
Gee Judith!
They would not be our OV employees and would not be working in our OV facility. The OV library facility would be the property of Pima County and the employees would be paid by Pima County. Why would the Oro Valley Town Council get involved?
“If we allow the county to take over the facility we will still be paying our library tax, plus a yearly charge, for a minimum of three years, to the county. This amount could equal $1.5 million over that same three-year period”. What is Judith’s source for this projected yearly charge of .5 million per year? Evidently Judith knows something that the rest of us do not!
“Currently our Oro Valley librarians purchase the books we want or need. If we become a branch of the Pima County system, the county would select and purchase materials”.
From the inception of the Oro Valley Library until two years ago Oro Valley was part of the centralized buying. All 27 branches including Oro Valley did input their request based on patron demand and circulation. Oro Valley opted out of that system because “we” are unique.
“Would we lose access to our community center for other than county-sanctioned events”?
Evidently Judith has talked to Pima County Supervisors or District Library Officials and they told her only county-sanctioned events would be allowed in the Oro Valley Library. Even the OV Library task group couldn’t find that out!
Nancy Ledeboer, Library Director for Pima County Public Library, told the Library Oro Valley Library Review Committee that the Branches may vary according to the Branch Managers’ determination of local needs, but that the County is basically doing the same things that Oro Valley is doing. As Ms. Ledeboer explained it, the County Staff develops a shell and the Branch Manager fills it.
The second letter from Arlene Lehto was filled with many similar and almost identical misrepresentations and conjectures:
“Mr. Musolf appears to want us to give away a $7 million asset”.
Gee Arlene!
Judith Kuhel and you must be close neighbors. Funny, both of you ladies came up with the same identical $7 million dollar figure.
The two of you must have written your letters together over coffee, since your quote has the same words and dollar amount as Judith! Incidentally, The Pima County Library District funded $2 million of the original construction cost and $1.1 million of the library expansion and currently owns 50% of the building.
“Furthermore, Mr. Musolf doesn't seem to realize that the county board lowered our secondary tax from $2.35 million to $1.8 million for 2009 – 2010.
Gee Arlene!
You and Judith Kuhel are both very observant. Total coincidence of course! Both of you noticed that I quoted 2.35 tax million in my letter. At the time my letter was published the library district tax was 2.35 million. The Pima County administrator just recently changed the tax rate so that the new tax is 1.8 million.
“He fails to mention that would include as many as 30 percent of the books we asked for and paid for. As just another branch, our books, checked out through other libraries, would stay with them”.
Gee Arlene!
You and Judith Kuhel are both very observant of the same omissions from my letter. Total coincidence of course!
Funny you both used 30 percent for the Oro Valley inventory reduction. Even the Library Task Force suggested the supposed drainage would probably be 20%
.
You and Judith both used the words “our books” referring to the ones that the Friends had purchased and donated to the OV Library. When the OV library first opened their doors where does Judith think the original collection that fills over 95% of the OV shelves came from? The answer is Pima County Library District.
In 2006, Tucson turned over the operation of 23 libraries and their books to the Pima County Library District. There was no mass drainage from any of the branches to other branches.
“Really, do we really want Pima County to hire our employees, select our books and not be answerable to our council”?
Gee Arlene!
Both you and Judith want control of the library to remain with the OV Town Council. Total coincidence of course! The library would belong to Pima County and the employees would be Pima District employees. Why would the Oro Valley Town Council get involved?
“We would also lose the income from the semi-annual book sales (approx. $20,000 per year)”.
Gee Arlene!
Evidently you may have talked to the same Pima County officials that Judith Kuhel did and those Pima County officials told you that the semi-annual book sales would be eliminated in an IGA turnover. Even the OV Library task group couldn’t find that out!
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Committee was unanimous about keeping OV library
After five months of intensive research including hours of one-on-one meetings with administrators, staff and patrons of other Pima County libraries, it was obvious that it would be impossible to maintain the same level of service to Oro Valley residents if the library was turned over to the Pima County and became one of 27 libraries under county administration.
It was agreed in the committee that the town is at a crossroads. Our town now has a population of over 44,000. We are a large municipality, however, under the present state statutes no municipality has control over funds raised by a county library district. The taxes are paid to the county and they pay our municipality whatever they wish to pay. At the present that represents around 50 percent of the costs of running the library, less than a third of the library property taxes paid by our residents. Last year, Oro Valley residents paid $2.3 million in library tax, and the county returned only $650,000 in reimbursements.
If we turn the library over to the county at this time, we will lose the leverage to take this, together with other municipalities, to the state legislature. We will also lose bargaining power with the county when the present intergovernmental agreement expires in 2012. If we turn over the library, Oro Valley will pay a large additional amount of money for the privilege of giving Pima County our library.
In the end our recommendation was unanimous and was intended to give the town time to potentially save over $1 million for the residents of Oro Valley, eliminate $700,000 of expense from the general fund, and keep the library.
Alisdair Innes, Review committee member, Oro Valley
Note: At the Council Meeting it was noted that one member of the committee was opposed to the report. Therefore, it might be erroneous to say it was "unanimous."
Art
4 comments:
The only thing more disorganized than this post is Art Segal's mind.
OVOT,
Where is the content?
Where is your issue? your thoughtful contribution?
Your insulting remarks are more reflective of who YOU are, not Art.
Ever hear the quote, "It's not if you win or lose, but how you play the game?"
And you had the audacity to criticize other bloggers for offering opinions that differed with yours...bloggers who did so in intelligent ways with reason not vitriol.
Take a good look at how you present yourself. Is this how you want to come across?
NS.....I guess I don't understand some of your comment.
Art's post is simply a disorganized presentation of other writings which, in my opinion, serve no useful purpose other than to inflame.
I was merely asking him for some point on which folks could comment.
If you are referencing my critical comments of Segal, they will continue. He is nothing more than an angry malcontent that does a disservice to this community. He has no tolerance for the opinion of others. He contributes zero, nada, nothing. (Unless you want to consider his recent traffic transgressions. I'll suspect the result was a contribution. Maybe we (Oro Valley) can get out of our fiscal problems if we can keep him driving.)
How I "come across" to most in this blog is not something that concerns me. Many of those who post here are, in my opinion, not credible and therefore their opinion of me is meaningless. By the same token there are a few that post reasoned comments and simply want to maintain a civil dialog. I respect them and am happy to discuss most any topic.
If you take the time to read some of the recent (last two weeks) postings made by 'big bird', you might want to direct some comment in his direction. I find it interesting that the number of folks who are critical of my comments is far greater than the number that are critical of his insults, vulgarity and posted garbage. I suspect some bias. What's your opinion?
Native Spirit--- Please, Do not respond to Cox's crap. Let him say what if wishes.
Let him also run for council.
Then, we'll once again point out our contribution to the people of Oro Valley.
The man is a LOSER and doesn't know when to shut up!
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