Platte County Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) branches are safe from closure, but the MCPL budget remains unapproved after a meeting of the board of trustees this week.
The board met Tuesday, June 21 in Independence, scheduled to approve the library system’s budget. However, after a tied vote and an hour of tense discussions the board closed the meeting without formally approving a new budget.
Over the past month, concerned citizens and trustees began to express their worries that the MCPL board may not manage to approve its budget before the state-mandated June 30 deadline. Many feared this meant either the library system was out of funds, or that all branches would be forced to close.
According to MCPL officials, the library system is in no danger of running out of funds to operate its branches and programs. And, thanks to the system’s founding policies, the presented budget will be approved by default at the end of the month, irregardless of the board’s non-approval. That budget may be amended at a later date, as is normal policy.
At the public levy hearing held Friday, June 10 in Independence, patrons accused some trustees, including a Platte County trustee, of holding up the library’s annual budgeting process as a political ploy.
The Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) has served Jackson, Platte and Clay counties for more than 50 years. The system, with its headquarters in Independence, consists of more than 30 library branches across three counties, with trustees appointed by officials in those counties.
The board is made up of 12 trustees, four of whom were appointed by the Platte County Commission. Current Platte County trustees are Gordon Cook, Michael Lazio, Dr. Yummy Pandolfi and Rita Wiese. Lazio serves as vice president.
Board treasurer John Laney, who represents Jackson County, called out board members who are trying to reduce the budget and have delayed the process. Chief among those is Cook, who has served on several committees in Platte County over the past decade, including the parks and recreation tax committee. Cook was also a vocal attendee at meetings of the county’s jail committee.
Platte County commissioners have been critical of the library in recent years, and in 2016 tried to block the placement of a library system tax increase on the ballot. The effort was unsuccessful and the tax levy increase was approved in all three counties.
Several patrons from the Northland, including some from Platte County, spoke out at both the hearing June 10 and at the Tuesday meeting. They questioned the timing and motives of Cook, as well as a contingent of Northland trustees who have caused controversy over the past few years.
Mark Kover, a resident of Kansas City North in Platte County spoke about patterns of behavior from certain trustees.
“We have a real mess in Platte County,” he said on June 10. “There are other things than Mr. Cook holding up the library.” He pointed to anti-LGBT and anti-semitic language used by trustees. “This is a platform, an agenda by our Platte County trustees and it needs to be fought.”
He spoke again Tuesday, saying the Northland is becoming more diverse and he sees more diverse people using the libraries for a variety of purposes.
“The library’s mission is to expand, not to pull us back,” he said, stating a small minority of board members should not dictate the future of the library system. Kover said he has seen libraries under attack across the country, as well as attacks on school curriculum, leading to erosion of the democratic process.
Several patrons voiced the same sentiments about the libraries. For some, they said, a library is an occasional source of books to read, but for others it’s a lifeline providing access to the internet and a safe, clean place to spend time. Programs for children provide free enrichment and learning opportunities, as well as a shelter for children who may live in less than ideal conditions. The elderly and disadvantaged can learn how to use technology to stay connected with family and friends or to help pull themselves out of homelessness.
Two teachers – one from Platte County and another from Gladstone – said they used the libraries’ resources every day in the classroom, helping teach their students how to conduct physical research from credible sources.
Platte County resident David Park, who has twice run for the county commission and attended meetings for several years, was critical of Cook’s past stance on the library tax.
“The Platte County commissioners who have been appointing trustees to the board have not been appointing trustees that reflect my values and my interests,” he said.
He said the libraries in Camden Point, Edgerton and Dearborn were central anchors in those small communities and the apparent efforts to defund the libraries put those branches in danger.
At the Tuesday meeting, library officials and trustees were eager to dispel concerns that the libraries could close.
Cook, who appears to be a the center of the discussion, agreed with this statement.
“I have no intention of shutting down the library,” he said. “I simply wanted numbers.”
He said the budgeting process did not proceed as expected and his requests for information were not fulfilled. Cook serves as the chair of the finance and audit committee and said he had questions about the numbers that were provided by library staff.
He says the data reviews he conducted were intended to assist the members of the finance committee, but as the information was slow to come it delayed the process. He questioned what he considered as variances in payroll and building project documents that he hopes to address.
Board treasurer John Laney said no one on the committee asked him to conduct his own review and that his recommendations do not align with the rest of the committee.
While one board member issued an apology to Cook, others said Cook’s actions were insulting to the library’s financial staff and outside of the parameters of his role as a trustee.
Cook suggested the board move forward with the vote with the understanding that amendments could be made should his findings prove accurate.
The motion ended with a tied vote with Platte County trustees Cook, Pandolfi and Wiese voting no.