In Response... Tri-City Herald Editorial

I sent the following message out to all Mid-Columbia Libraries staff in response to the April 30, 2010 Tri-City Herald Editorial “What's the big secret? Taxpayers aren't told.” Reflecting on the message over the weekend, I realized that you, our customers, deserved to see our comments just as much as our staff members. We routinely send staff our responses to news stories; this is the first time we’ve published our response. I hope this helps each of you understand our process.

All my best,

Kyle Cox, Administrative Services Director

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Mid-Columbia Libraries and the City of Pasco have been actively negotiating for a library services contract since 2009. Throughout the negotiation process, both the City and MCL have talked with the Tri-City Herald, stating our positions. At times, the City and MCL disagreed on elements of the contract- just look at back issues of the Herald.

However, at the April 22, 2010, meeting between the two groups, resolution became closer than ever. Issuing a joint statement, both the City and MCL expressed to the Herald that the both parties were in agreement on the major issues of the contract, but the smaller details needed to be worked out. This is true.

The Herald is crying foul in its editorial column. They assert that our two groups are engaging in some clandestine backroom deal, without regard to the taxpayers. But this just isn't the case.

As a journalism instructor once told me, "To get the scoop, you've got to show up." The contract with the City of Pasco was openly discussed at the March 15, 2010 MCL Board meeting. The Board also held two special meetings on March 8, 2010 and April 21, 2010 to discuss the contract. The Board, in open public meetings, discussed their concerns and positions with regard to the contract. None of this happened in executive session. None of this was done behind closed doors. The minutes for these meetings are posted on MCL's website. The Herald was notified in advance of all of these meetings. The Herald chose not to attend the meetings or look at MCL's website prior to issuing its editorial.

So where are we now? Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield asked MCL to have our attorney draft a contract with the tentatively agreed-upon terms. The MCL Board's negotiation team intends to review the contract next week, hammer out any concerns, and send over a draft to the City of Pasco for their review. The next negotiation session is scheduled for May 17, 2010 at 4:00pm.

It's an incorrect statement to assert that taxpayers won't have the opportunity to give their input on the contract. Both the MCL Board and the Pasco City Council will discuss and review the document, once there is a document. Both MCL and the City of Pasco are governed by citizen boards, required to give the public opportunities to comment and to pass actions in public meetings.

This process isn't being done in the dark- if anything, the whole process has been done in stark daylight. Throughout discussions, the City of Pasco's primary objective has been to contain its long-term operational costs. MCL has consistently expressed its desire to expand library services and open a West Pasco library. Neither Pasco nor MCL has ever strayed from this message.

Let's review the facts. We have... A) multiple, public meetings in which the terms of the contact have been discussed, B) two different agencies who have consistently stayed on message with regard to their objectives, C) a joint statement indicating major points that have been tentatively agreed to (see the paragraph above) and D) a stated timeframe in which a document, that currently is being created, will be discussed and made available.

So, what IS the "big secret"?