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Orange County Supervisors cut Irvine loose on Tuesday after a yearlong fight over the city’s exit from the county library system, ending frequent disputes between one of the county’s largest cities and county staff over what libraries should get upgraded.
With the exit, Irvine will see over $9 million a year freed up to build up their own library system with some financial aid from the county, while county staff get to keep a $28 million pot of funds the two agencies have fought over for years.
The switch comes as Irvine residents and leaders have complained about their outdated facilities for years, with the city home to some of the oldest and most visited libraries in the county.
Despite Irvine’s annual contribution of over $17 million to the countywide library system, only around $4-5 million was actually spent in the city, according to City Manager Oliver Chi.
“The cost of delivering services in Irvine are well below the amount of funding the city contributes into the system,” Chi said at the council’s 2023 February meeting when they started looking to leave.
“The county likes to use the excess dollars we have for priorities the county sets,” he said.
Now, the city plans to launch its own library department, taking over several of the county library locations and opening up new libraries to replace locations like the Katie Wheeler Library, which will close as part of this deal.
[Read: Irvine Gears Up to Leave County Library System, Ramp up City Efforts]
Supervisors didn’t say a word about the switch when they unanimously approved it last week, but several issued statements in the afternoon approving the shift.
“We respect the City of Irvine’s desire to create a library system tailored to the specific needs of their community,” said Supervisor Doug Chaffee in a statement.
“While this transition will bring changes, the County is working closely with the City to support a smooth transition and remain committed to maintaining a strong network of library services across the County,” he continued.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento praised the deal put together by county staff in a statement to Voice of OC, saying his focus was to protect the countywide system and calling it a “win-win situation.”
“The agreement we approved today protects the County library system funding and ensures that the system remains financially stable,” Sarmiento said. “The negotiations focused on protecting the county library system-wide collection, and ensuring there will be no reductions in hours, services, or programs.”
In a statement, Supervisor Don Wagner said that he was “sad to see Irvine go, and wishes them the best in the future.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
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