TREASURE ISLAND — The city will stay in the Gulf Beaches Library Cooperative for six more months while it tries to negotiate a cheaper deal, city commissioners decided.
Treasure Island has the most residents of the five beach cities in the cooperative, so it pays the largest share of the library’s budget: 42%, or $157,930 of $376,023. Commissioners want a cost formula that better reflects who actually uses the library.
The extension gives the cities time to rewrite an interlocal agreement that City Attorney Ralf Brookes said had lapsed without anyone noticing.
“The Gulf Beaches Library agreement expired, unbeknownst to all of the cities in the cooperative,” Brookes told commissioners.
The library asked the cities for a six-month extension to allow time to renegotiate. Brookes said one option is to base each city’s share on its number of library users rather than its population. “We can explore alternatives,” he said.
He said staying in is also cheaper for now. Even with the Gulf Beaches agreement expired, the city would still owe the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative about $247,000 for the year under a separate agreement that runs through Sept. 30, 2028.
“If we were to deny the six-month extension, we would owe the Pinellas Library Cooperative more than it would cost to stay in the Gulf Beaches Library for six months,” Brookes said. “The difference would cost us $44,500 more not to agree, so we could save that money by agreeing to a six-month extension and trying to work out a more equitable agreement for the city.”
Brookes added that the city would have to give six months’ notice to cancel the Pinellas cooperative agreement and would have to pay for that period.
Commissioners had earlier set aside money in the budget for both cooperatives without allocating it. Brookes cautioned that the homestead property tax referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot could cut city revenue and that nonessential services may be reviewed. The city will know the referendum’s effect before the extension runs out.
Treasure Island has 6,498 residents. Madeira Beach has 4,075, Redington Shores 2,162, North Redington Beach 1,476 and Redington Beach 1,385. According to figures supplied by the city, Madeira Beach pays 26% of the library budget, or $97,765. Redington Shores pays 14%, or $52,643. North Redington Beach and Redington Beach pay 9% each, or $33,842.
During public comment, resident Kimberly Stewart questioned whether the city is paying for cardholders who no longer use the library.
“The numbers seem really skewed when it comes to population versus cardholders, and what our costs are going to be,” she said. “I’m wondering, have we ever actually looked into how many of those are active users?”
Citing the population shift of the past two years, Stewart asked whether the city could audit users to control costs. She suggested that offering some kind of refund could show who is using their cards.
Resident Scott McKinney said the city could save money by reimbursing residents for the $100 library card, which would still be cheaper and would keep access for people who use the library.
Commissioners were skeptical of the refund idea.
Commissioner Arden Dickey said library cards must be renewed every three years, “so it’s not like a bunch of these are dormant and have been sitting there for years.”
He said reimbursing cardholders would not save money because a purchased $100 card must be renewed every year.
“If 57% of current cardholders asked for the reimbursement, we would break even on the cost and save zero money,” Dickey said. “We would have gone through all of this trouble and not saved any money, and caused additional burden on our residents.”
Mayor John Doctor said a refund could backfire.
“All of a sudden we’ll have a fundraiser for the library,” he said. “They’re going to say, go over to the library, buy your card, it’s going to be reimbursed, and all of a sudden we are going to be out a lot more money.”
Dickey recommended approving the extension and holding a workshop during the six months. Doctor and Commissioner Chris Clark agreed, noting the money is already in the budget. Commissioner Tammy Vasquez also supported the extension.
“That was a nice caveat, to be able to make a more informed decision after the November election and see where we’re at at that time,” she said.