Library Services Contract Yet to Be Finalized

City Administrator Geoff Grote had hoped to get a new library services contract from Oakland in time to present it to Piedmont City Council for a sign-off in August. With officials from both cities now returning from summer vacation, Grote said he expected the two sides to finally hammer out a new agreement sometime “within the next couple of months."

In July, Piedmont City Council to pay $350,471 for library services for 2011-2012, but only as long as Oakland keeps all its library branches open, except for the Piedmont Avenue branch which faces an due to a new landlord who has raised the rent from $1 to $4,250 a month.

If Oakland did decide to close branches due to budgetary constraints mid year, Piedmont would want to then re-negotiate a prorated price.  

“If they had to make the choice to close all branches except two or three, they’d need to come to us with a new number,” Grote said. The negotiators for both sides, he continued, would work together to craft a carefully worded clause to stipulate that condition.

Councilman Jeff Wieler was the sole member of the Piedmont council to voice opposition to the proposed payment for 2011-2012. He argued that if the Piedmont Avenue branch, where 27 percent of Piedmont patrons got their library cards, closes, the $350,471 fee would no longer be fair.  

However, Grote said the issue of the Piedmont Avenue branch was a "special problem," because of the lease issue, and would have to be resolved outside the context of the Piedmont's negotiations with Oakland. 

Meanwhile, Oakland has yet to bill Piedmont the $350,471 for 2010-2011, said Grote. If Oakland expects to be paid for the coming fiscal year, previous expenses have to be cleared off the balance sheets, he said.