Legal opinion backs library secession plan

If the city of Whitefish decides it wants to create its own city library, it can do so, according to a draft opinion from Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.

Whitefish is contemplating breaking away from the Flathead County library system based on a study group’s recommendation that the city would be better served by having its own library.

But before the Whitefish City Council renders a decision, it wanted a couple of questions answered by the Attorney General. First, if the city withdraws from the interlocal agreement with the county library and takes back its city-owned building, will real property within the city be exempt from the county’s mill levy for library services? Secondly, can the city, under state law, create an existing tax-supported public library after withdrawing from the interlocal agreement?

Assistant Attorney General J. Stuart Segrest has asked the city, county, Montana League of Cities and Towns, Montana Association of Counties and the State Library Board to comment on the draft opinion by Oct. 4, after which a final opinion will be submitted to Bullock for his consideration.

Whitefish City Attorney Mary VanBuskirk said the council will talk about the draft opinion at Monday’s meeting.

“This would be a good opinion if it becomes a final opinion,” she said. “I don’t think we’ll know for sure what the council will do until we get the final opinion.”

The draft states that taxable property within an incorporated city may become exempt from a county library levy under state law only when the city has “an existing tax-supported public library” actually in existence and the city governing body notifies the county of its desire not to be part of the county library system.

A city may create a tax-supported public library after the creation of a county-free library and then invoke the provisions of state law to exempt property within the city limits from the county library tax levy, the preliminary opinion further stated.

Whitefish is under an Oct. 28 deadline to give the county Library Board notice to terminate the interlocal agreement; otherwise the city wouldn’t legally be able to withdraw from the agreement for another two years.

In May the Whitefish Ad Hoc Library Committee delivered a 175-page report to the City Council, detailing a long list of concerns, from heavy-handed administration to inequities in resources and unacceptable treatment of Whitefish branch library employees.

The report also unveiled a detailed proposal for an independent Whitefish library, including a budget and plan to divvy up the library’s 44,603 items.

The Library Board, in turn, issued its own written responses to nine issues cited by the study group: quality of service, dictating to the Whitefish community, micromanagement, growing differences in philosophy, inequities in library services, excessive discarding of materials, top-heavy management structure, lack of transparency to the Whitefish community and unacceptable treatment of employees. Board members noted a continuing “us versus them” mentality that doesn’t lend itself to resolving issues.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com