Another Fine Mess

Fred Voltz lives in Bellingham and has worked in both corporate management and as an entrepreneur in the areas of operations, finance and real estate.

Decisions Made and Opportunities Squandered by the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County Library Systems

One would hope our important public library systems (Bellingham and Whatcom County Public Library systems) operate strategically, economically and coherently. With little mainstream media coverage of day-to-day operations, these two public entities and their oversight boards have had little incentive or public pressure to fundamentally challenge their ongoing operating assumptions.

This lack of initiative is particularly galling in a tough economy. The indifference even extends to Bellingham’s chief administrative officer, who has chosen to do nothing about addressing the systemic library problems he has been apprised of and for which he has oversight.

Do you know:

• that 34 years ago it was recommended by paid consultants to consolidate the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County library systems and the two entities refused to proceed? Do you know that both systems refuse to actively analyze the possibility today?

Both systems’ obstinacy and recitation of multiple, undocumented reasons why “it won’t work” mask real fears that duplicate administrative positions and overhead expenses can’t be sustained; they would be forced by unassailable facts to fundamentally change.

• the Whatcom County Library System soon plans a special election for an additional levy when it has not demonstrated judicious management of existing tax monies? Special elections cost more to stage and result in a higher probability of only the “faithful” turning out to pass a measure they champion. Is this forthright democracy?

• Bellingham recently spent over $500,000 in consulting fees designing a new library at a total projected cost of over $135 million and growing without determining the appropriateness of existing space usage?

• that there is no cap on structural repair expense to the Fairhaven library building, currently at over $2 million and growing? (In 2005 this building was judged “structurally sound.”)

• that Bellingham’s 2009 library budget calls for $140,000 in consulting expense to reconfigure the existing central library space, while library management and the board of trustees refuse to pursue a low-cost alternative?

• that Bellingham library management spent considerable time successfully proposing $75,000 in 2009 “branding” expense? (No, it’s not about cattle, but about making all signage and marketing materials “consistent.”)

• that in just two years the Bellingham library’s operations expense budget increased by over 17 percent? (2007 actual expense compared to 2009 budget.)

• the Bellingham library refused to respond to, much less consider, a recent north Bellingham commercial property owner’s offer to donate a branch library facility along the lines of the recently opened Barkley Village branch? The City Council’s representative to the library’s board of trustees stated “there was no money for new programs,” as justification for quickly dismissing any responsibility to research how this might occur, while simultaneously endorsing the $140,000 and $75,000 of unnecessary new programs.

• Bellingham library management and trustees steadfastly refused to consider the re-use of existing, vacant buildings outside of the downtown core with better public transit access and ample parking for possible relocation?

• the Bellingham library hiked its various noncommercial meeting room fees by 25–33 percent in 2008 without gathering usage statistics, only past revenue received?

These questions grew out of attendance at the Bellingham library’s fall 2007 public sales pitch for a new library building. During an intermission the chair of the board of trustees and the library director were asked if they knew how much space was being used by various library functions. Neither one of them had a clue.

Miraculously, the consultants’ final report suddenly listed existing space usage numbers disconnected from the proposed new space allocations. Huge increases in space (over 77 percent) were based solely on “averages” derived from industry trade groups. These averages were dutifully applied, totally ignoring the actual, specific needs of our community.

At the very least it is gross negligence by our elected and appointed public officials to conduct “business as usual,” assuming the public will compliantly pay an ever higher price to support pointless duplication, waste and excesses, or be threatened with cutbacks in police, fire, teachers and road repairs, while myriad public administrators continue their employment in good times and bad.

It seems that governmental entities, be they cities, counties, libraries, flood control, schools, weed abatement, water, hospital, emergency response, air quality, etc., should be actively pursuing major structural efficiencies and consolidating across meaningless boundaries rather than creating or defending permanent administrative fiefdoms.

Look at California’s budget follies as a telling example of myopic special interests refusing to recognize economic reality and pursue meaningful changes. How would it feel to receive a government I.O.U. instead of a check honored by financial institutions? Whatcom County and Washington state will reach a similar impasse without substantive change.

Where are the probing questions by those with a fiduciary responsibility, both on the public’s payroll and volunteer committees? Reviewing four years of library history and attending several board meetings shows few probing questions or thoughtful challenges to managements’ agendas in either library system.

Why can’t the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County finance staffs immediately analyze a full merger between the city and county library systems? How about fully integrating the Bellingham Technical College, Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University libraries as well, given their public funding and mission?

Why can’t north Bellingham, deficient in city services and amenities, realize full branch library services by a creative partnership with Whatcom Community College’s library, sharing expenses and existing facilities?

Why can’t a graduate-level internship be pursued with the University of Washington Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Simon Frasier University, the University of British Columbia? Its objective: Encourage graduate students to develop creative space re-use at Bellingham’s neglected central library and the county library’s administrative facility. Cost: Much less than the $140,000 initiated by the Bellingham library director for consultants.

Expense should be limited to mileage reimbursement and project materials, while providing a constructive learning experience for the students and the libraries’ administrative staffs.

Why not relocate the central children’s library at the soon-to-be vacated Children’s Museum space on Prospect Street, supporting the idea of an “arts district” and creating more space for re-use in the existing Bellingham central library if there is a genuine, unsolvable space shortage? (The Prospect building is already child ready and a very short walk from the existing central library.)

If a new central library can be fully, rationally justified, how about considering the long-abandoned locations of Home Base and Toys ‘r Us just off the Guide Meridian, with tremendous public transit access potential and plentiful parking?

How about an inventory of public meeting room usage in all publicly owned local facilities, e.g., schools, government office buildings, libraries, etc., to ensure maximum usage before constructing more or maintaining underutilized meeting spaces?

How much money should be poured into sustaining the Fairhaven library building when 70 percent of its space is devoted to underutilized meeting rooms? (Note: Port Angeles ultimately re-used its obsolete Carnegie library building for a museum.)

Has outsourcing been considered in operating our public libraries? At least one company, Library Systems & Services LLC (LSSI), has been operating in partnership with 14 public library systems since 1981. Perhaps they have a better, more efficient model for Whatcom County’s fragmented, overlapping library service delivery system?

Let’s stop focusing on minor issues such as attendance at public relations events and overdue fines and start addressing some of the major questions our public libraries face and how they choose to operate. If you feel the current ways are not optimally serving the public, let your libraries’ boards of trustees and elected officials know that you expect them to take a critical, unbiased and expansive look at major issues before complacently proceeding.

See http://www.bellinghampubliclibrary.org http://www.wcls.org and http://www.cob.org for contact information. §