For the second year in a row
the Mendocino County Grand Jury has tried to educate the county about it’s
crazy, illegal billing of the library system for what amounts to reimbursement
on buildings and equipment the county never paid for.
In addition, the grand jury
points out that the chief librarian’s salary continues to come out of library
funds when state law instructs that counties must pay for that person
themselves. The grand jury also pointed this out last year.
State law says counties can
charge libraries annual fees on buildings and equipment it purchased on behalf
of those libraries. The county must stop charging those fees as soon as the
original cost is paid off. More important, the county cannot charge that fee to
the library if the building or equipment was paid for with federal or state
grants or funds raised by groups like Friends of the Library.
Yet this is exactly what our
county continues to do, while ignoring the thorough research done by the grand
jury – again – showing that the county has no right to that money. And, the
county is still charging the libraries for things like walnut card drawers.
C’mon, those drawers were paid for years ago.
What is truly the worst part
of this story no less, is that the county cannot show a single document backing
up its own view of the world, the world where all money comes into the county
general fund to spend as it wishes.
Even now, as the grand jury
tackles the county’s circular reasoning again, it says all it got were comments
like “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” and fingers pointed to some other
county office for another “interpretation” of the law.
The Board of Supervisors
ought to be scandalized that its auditors, its attorneys and and its county
leadership, can’t seem to find their rear ends in this matter. If the county
leadership is convinced they’re right and the grand jury is wrong, let them
produce the documentation and prove it.
June 14, 2015
Ukiah
Daily Journal
Editorial
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