The City of Manassas Park leaving the Prince William County Library System in 2014 could trigger cutbacks and higher costs for the county and the city of Manassas, library officials said Monday.
Library, county and Manassas Park officials attended a special library board of trustees meeting on Monday in Woodbridge held specifically to discuss what would happen if the city withdrew monetary support from the system—and what it would take to keep that from happening.
Manassas Park City Council members notified the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and library officials in May that Manassas Park intends to leave the library system effective July 2014, a move that would cut off Manassas Park residents' free access to library services.
Manassas Park lawmakers believe the amount paid into the system should be based on usage and not on population, as stated in the current agreement.
The county, Manassas Park and the City of Manassas give money to the system based on each jurisdictions' population.
Manassas Park contributes about $480,000 to the library system each year. Read here what an Manassas Park official said to the trustees on Monday.
If Manassas Park leaves, then the county and Manassas would have to continue supporting the system, which probably means more money from each jurisdiction, library officials said.
Manassas Park's departure could trigger logistical issues that could lead to staff stopping people at the library doors to see if they can access the library, outgoing Prince William County Library System Director Dick Murphy told the board of trustees on Monday.
“If we ask people at the door then we’re no longer a public library,” Murphy said.
Manassas Park officials say that because its residents use the system's libraries less, then the city should pay less.
Find out what's happening in Manassaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
But if the amount each jurisdiction contributed were based on usage, then the amount of money the library receives could decrease, Murphy said.
Murphy said he believes the current agreement is "fair and equitable all around." Computing cost based on usage could make things more complicated, he said.
Find out what's happening in Manassaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Additionally, library officials said that book circulation is the bedrock for computing usage, but an accurate number of exactly how many people are using the library system can be difficult to come up with.
eBook services are facilitated by a third party vendor and you can't really count how many people from each jurisdiction come through the door just to use a computer or read a magazine, library staff said.
Manassas Park officials also say the city shouldn't pay for new libraries being built in Montclair and Gainesville because city residents don't use them.
Manassas Park's argument on not paying for libraries they don't use can be applied to the county, Murphy said.
"Someone living up on Bull Run Mountain doesn’t use the Dumfries Library but they still pay for it," Murphy told the board.
Board members pointed out that they still have a year to work out a new agreement before Manassas Park's exit date, but they also realize that year can go by quickly.
Prince William County lawmakers and others will be involved in the talks, because the library system isn't an independent decision-making entity.
If an agreement can't be reached, then Prince William County doesn't have to allow free access to its library for non residents,Angela Lemmon Horan, county attorney for Prince William County told the board of trustees.
“If the two minds can’t meet, then the county is under no obligation to pay for residents of other jurisdictions to use the library,” she said on Monday.
Do you think an agreement will be reached by July 2014? Tell us in the comments.Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
