My Thoughts on the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library (OSNGUPL) Agreement
The following are my opinions about the challenges we are facing in signing the OSNGUPL Agreement. They are not necessarily those of council or any councillor. I am personally responsible for the content of this web site. I have not put the exact section of the Libraries Act in my explanation as it is difficult enough just to attempt explaining the situation.
Some history about the Owen Sound Library:
On October 10, 1855, one hundred and two citizens (all men) signed a charter “to establish a Mechanics’ Institute and Library Association at the Town of Sydenham (which officially became Owen Sound in 1850) in the County of Grey. Women were finally permitted to join the library in the 1870’s.
The Carnegie Foundation gave twenty-six thousand dollars ($26,000) to the Library. The new building was opened on February 3, 1914. The Architects were Foster & Clark.
The latest expansion to the library opened on October 22, 1973.
The Union Public Library came into existence on January 1, 1994. The partners were Owen Sound, Chatsworth, Derby, Holland, Keppel, Sarawak and Sydenham. After amalgamation, the partners were Owen Sound, Chatsworth, Georgian Bluffs and Meaford (Sydenham portion).
Before amalgamation, the Councils voted on the agreement and signed it – basically stating that the dues would be paid for services rendered.
When the last agreement was signed, the Mayors and the Clerks signed the main contract while the Chairmen of the Library Boards and the C.E.O.’s of the Meaford Public Library (MPL) and the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library (OSNGUPL) signed the portion concerning the services in Section A.
The Mayor has been keeping the MPL Board up-to-date by attending several of their meetings and informing them of the developments. The Mayor and I attended two meetings of the Negotiating Committee made up of two Council Members from each municipality with Owen Sound Councillor Jim McManaman as Chairman. As Meaford is buying services from the OSNGUPL, we did not have a vote at these meetings.
There were several changes suggested. Meaford students who attend school in Owen School should be able to have a library card. Each year, the names of the active cardholders would be given to the C.A.O. of each municipality for audit purposes.
As the chair of the MPL, Peter Bantock has interpreted the Libraries Act. The Boards should negotiate once the partners have passed the agreement. Since the partners have always negotiated the agreement, they were not prepared to negotiate with the Meaford Public Library Board.
Mr. Bantock also thought the agreement was poorly written and confusing. He wanted to get a legal opinion.
In the media, Mr. Bantock has stated he consulted five (5) lawyers to put together the draft agreement which he and another member of the MPL Board gave to the Chair of the OSNGUPL Board, Richard Thomas.
Mr. Thomas brought the draft agreement to the OSNGUPL Board Meeting that evening. As he did not think it should be a topic for an in-camera session, he distributed it in open session – i.e., the document is public.
The draft agreement was not just an exercise in wordsmithing to make it more modern. Once the OSNGUPL Board knew that I had not seen the draft, no one would even look at it. A lawyer on the OSNGUPL Board, Thomas Denholm, said that with a very quick cursory look at it, he did not see the need for the long arbitration processes. That was before he saw the dollar amount offered.
I will list some of the differences:
1. Meaford Council has passed a resolution agreeing to the one hundred ten thousand dollars annual costs with increases that follow the same pattern since 1994. There is a small amount for capital maintenance – i.e., around three hundred dollars ($300.00) a year. The amount and the increases are equal for the partners and Meaford. As Chatsworth, Georgian Bluffs and Owen Sound have all agreed, I do not think we could ask for a better amount. The expenses paid for the OSNGUPL are passed by a Board made up of Councillors of the four municipalities. Therefore, nothing could be added without the permission of the four municipalities (and that includes Meaford).
The Meaford Public Board (MPL) prposed an amount of fifty-five thousand dollars ($55.000) for the annual fee. This would cause the OSNGUPL Board to do one of two things: the partners would have to pay more or services (and possibly, staff) would have to be cut. The MPL Board offered the $55,000 (taxes included) annually for the life of the agreement – i.e., ten years.
2. Meaford Public Library Board wants a member of the MPL Board to be on the Board of the OSNGUPL. That would mean that the OSNGUPL Board would have to add a member of the MPL Board and someone else to keep the number odd OR have a member of the MPL Board instead of Council representation. There are Council members from all the municipalities and both Meaford Council and the OSNGUPL Board prefer it that way.
3. Meaford Public Library costs approximately four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) annually to operate. The financial work is done by the Treasurer of the Municipality free of cost. The MPL Board is suggesting that the invoice for the fees plus the list of the active card holders go to the Board who will pay the fees in four equal parts. At this time, the MPL does not have a bank account so I would have to assume that they would be doing that work themselves.
4. The Agreement among the municipalities has run since January 1, 1994. There has never been a challenge that the municipalities and the Board could not sit down and work out. The OSNGUPL has maintain budget (surplus of approximately one hundred dollars last year). About half of the proposed agreement that the MPL Board offered deals with arbitration.
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Differences between Approved Agreement and MPL Proposed Agreement: |
|
| Approved Agreement | Proposed Agreement |
| *$110,000/year with increases | *$55,000/year |
| Following an approved formula | No increases |
| *No member from MPL Board | *Member from MPL Board |
| *Meaford’s Treasurer does Financial Reports | *MPL does bookkeeping at a cost? |
| *No arbitration | *Large portion of contract on arbitration |
Council wants to do its business in the correct manner. We have been trying to get through this process without any disturbance in services to the people of Sydenham.
Personally, I have some other concerns:
1) If the MPL Board negotiates the agreement, the ratepayers of Sydenham will be represented by a group of people who were not elected and who do not live in Sydenham;
2) Council has made a new line on the budget so that the five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) spent on library services becomes four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) for the MPL and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the OSNGUPL.
3) I believe that there should be a Council representative on the OSNGUPL Board to ensure that money spent and decisions made are by an elected official; and,
4) It states in the Libraries Act that the MPL Board is responsible for library services in the municipality. It concerns me that there is no representation from Sydenham on the MPL Board.
I have found that many people in the former Township of Sydenham do not know that they are allowed to use the OSNGUPL. It was not until June of this year that the MPL Board allowed the OSNGUPL contact information to be on the Meaford Library Section of the municipal web page.
The reality is that people in the western part of the Municipality of Meaford look to Owen Sound for their library services – as well as schools, churches, stores, medical appointments, etc. If our children go to Sydenham School in Owen Sound and use recreational facilities in Owen Sound, should we have to drive to Meaford to use the library services?
When the Mayor brought the resolution to Council to accept this agreement, Councillor Clumpus was absent. The only member who voted against the agreement was Councillor Mike Poetker, who is the Council representative for the Meaford Public Library Board. There are many people in downtown Meaford who are angry that the Mayor is trying to continue the agreement with the OSNGUPL. The Mayor has steadfastly endeavoured to bring the parties together. I firmly believe he is aware of the deep feeling in Sydenham about the use of the OSNGUPL and wants the best for all of the municipality.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Related News Articles
http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=3398776
http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=3395714
http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=3387617
http://www.simcoe.com/news/article/1257792–union-board-chair-new-deal-being-held-up
http://www.simcoe.com/opinion/columns/article/1255960–library-board-is-playing-with-fire