MORENO VALLEY: Private company to run public library - The Press-Enterprise - 26/06/13

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/moreno-valley/moreno-valley-headlines-index/20130626-moreno-valley-private-company-to-run-public-library.ece

"Moreno Valley Public Library employees will soon be laid off after the city agreed to outsource library services to save money while expanding library hours and services.
On Tuesday night, June 25, the Moreno Valley City Council unanimously approved a five-year contract turning over library operations to a private company, Library Systems & Services LLC. The Maryland-based company runs 35 library branches in Riverside County."

"Contracting city public library work to a private company violates state government codes, said John Adams, labor relations consultant to the Moreno Valley City Employee Association.
General-law cities can contract for services that they don’t have the ability to do themselves, but those are mainly technical and administrative jobs. Cities can only contract for those services with another public agency -- not private companies, he said.
The union will now watch a test case on an identical question involving government privatization in Costa Mesa that is expected to be heard in Orange County Superior Court in January.
If the case is settled in favor of public employees, the city of Moreno Valley will have to void the contract with Library Systems & Services or the union will file a lawsuit to do so, Adams said."

For background on the test case on privatisation in Costa Mesa see;

http://www.voiceofoc.org/oc_coast/costa_mesa/article_d14c1192-ce18-11e2-a5d3-001a4bcf887a.html

 

MORENO VALLEY: City Council considering library privatization - The Press-Enterprise - 28/03/13

http://blog.pe.com/moreno-valley/2013/03/28/moreno-valley-city-council-considering-library-privatization/

"The City Council has asked staff to look into privatizing Moreno Valley Public Library to save money."


http://blog.pe.com/moreno-valley/2013/04/02/moreno-valley-what-does-transparency-mean/

"The definition of transparency, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary:

a : Free from pretense or deceit.
b : Easily detected or seen through.
c : Readily understood.
d : Characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices.
City residents repeatedly have heard since the beginning of the year that Moreno Valley officials are commited to being completely transparent.
Considering this mantra, I had no reason to expect on Monday, April 1, I would have trouble getting information about the city’s possible plans to contract with a private company, LSSI, for Moreno Valley’s library services."