By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — The board of the Three Rivers Public Library will officially put a new offer before Lockport Township for a library services contract.
On Tuesday, the board voted to extend to the township a written offer of $20,822.18 on its contract for the first year, with an increase of 3 percent every year for three years, with an option to terminate the contract six months prior to the end of the library’s fiscal year in June. There will also be a clause that gives the sides the option to renegotiate after three years.
The offer comes amid a newly-forming contract dispute between the library and the township, the second such dispute the library has faced in the last three years. The offer is expected to be presented to the township and considered at its next meeting on Monday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s offer is the first formal offer in writing that has been made during the current dispute. Lockport’s current offer, which according to library board president Linda Munro is a verbal proposal that has not been made in writing, is for the $20,822.18 per year, with an increase of 2 percent per year for three years, with a 90-day termination clause and renegotiations after three years. Interim Library Director Erin Zabonick said she requested a written proposal from the township, but no written offer was made available.
The $20,822.18 number is derived from the amount Lockport is currently paying the library under its current library services contract, which itself is derived from a requirement in the current contract that the library has to receive 3/10 of a mill of taxable value for each of the service areas it serves, which it needs to be eligible for state funding. Language specifically referencing 3/10 of a mill is not expected to be present in the library’s upcoming offer.
Terms of the contract were discussed heavily during Tuesday’s meeting, with Munro saying that while she’s not as concerned with the percentage increase part of the contract as she is with the termination clause, she mentioned that after talking with the library’s lawyers, the 2 percent for inflation, which was part of the offer by Lockport, has “not been on par for what it has been.”
Citing the Consumer Price Index, Munro said in the last five years, inflation has been at 3.96 percent, and over the last 10 years 2.73 percent, and over the last 20 years 3.07 percent. Later on in the meeting, Interim Library Director Erin Zabonick said in the last six months, inflation has been at 3.25 percent.
None of those numbers were particularly close to the 2 percent offered by Lockport, however the difference between 2 percent and 3 percent, Munro admitted, was only a roughly $200 difference year over year.
“It’s for us to decide whether to go with what they’re offering or not,” Munro said. “They made it very, very, very clear that this would be the one and only offer they would make or even consider.”
Zabonick added that at the last Lockport Township meeting, it was said by at least one township board member that the offer on the table from the township was “2 percent or we walk.”
However, Munro said the $200 difference would eventually add up over time for the library as it goes forward if they went with Lockport’s proposal.
“Their offer is not an unfair offer overall, in the grand scheme of thing, but $200 plus another $200, plus another $200, plus what we lose from the state,” Munro said.
It was noted by a couple of board members that the contract Lockport was seeking was similar, if not identical, to the agreement style that the township currently has with the Nottawa Township Library, a smaller library in terms of size, but who also gets 2 percent increases per year on their contract. Some members said that Nottawa’s library is “not the same library” as Three Rivers’ is, though.
“It’s a beautiful, great library, but it doesn’t have everything we have at this library,” Desiree Horrocks said. “So, I don’t know if it’s comparable, it’s like, ‘we pay Nottawa this, so we should only pay you that as well.’”
Munro said that was mostly due to the township wanting it to be easier for them in terms of budgeting, but added later that the library needs to consider its own budget processes, at least in terms of the termination clause.
Board Vice President Vicki Wordelman said in her mind, she didn’t believe the current verbal offer from Lockport was a “fair” proposal.
“If we let them get away with this, what is Fabius going to do? And Park already stepped away, and it’s making their people pay $50 a piece or $75 for a library card. The thing is, we keep giving and giving and giving, and getting nothing in return,” Wordelman said. “Whenever I negotiated a contract when I was a union worker, everybody gives a little. This was no give whatsoever, and I’m not for that. But I’m only one vote.”
Charlene Zavala, Lockport Township’s non-voting representative on the board, said while she understands where Wordelman was coming from with her comments, but looked at it from the perspective of the kids who use the library.
“I’m hung up on kids, as that’s our future. We raise children to enjoy the library, enjoy reading, and to enjoy all these things. I’m fearful at being too quick on some things because I don’t want to see the children be lost,” Zavala said. “Would I find the money to sign my kids up and bring them? When my kids were little, I didn’t have [the money.] When you’re trying to put food on the table, that was the heartbreak for me.
“You saw the people speaking up last month. There’s people who have children or grandchildren who use it. I strongly urge that you do up something and present it to them so that they have some things to consider at the meeting on the 12th. I do believe that more people will be there speaking up or at least seeing what’s going on,” Zavala added later. “I feel like I have a voice there and I’m getting more people involved, and it’s not just ones with kids, it’s adults that want to be involved in things. … I am a Lockport resident through and through, but I support the library.”
Some of the other discussion revolved around what language to put in a contract offer, ultimately coming to the conclusion to go with language that states that while they understand the township wants to have certainty with budgeting and that the library will be eliminating specific language regarding the 3/10 of a mill, the library has a need to continue maintaining state requirements.
In the end, board members agreed that the 3 percent increases would be a “fair offer,” while Horrocks commented on whether or not the township would reject the offer after the offer was presented to the township.
“I think if they’re going to completely reject your attempts at negotiation, they can tell us that in writing,” Horrocks said to Zabonick.
Zabonick said after the meeting that she is “hopeful” Lockport would consider and/or accept the library’s contract proposal.
“I’m always hopeful. I really think we both can work together and come to a joint agreement so it benefits all the residents,” Zabonick said. “We can present what we want and we go from there. But we’re all open to renegotiating.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
