Huntington Beach Rejects Letting Voters Decide on Outsourcing City Libraries

The Huntington Beach City Council last week rejected a proposal to ask voters if the city should outsource its library operations. The council’s conservative majority voted 4-3 May 7 against the proposal, which would have put a measure on the city’s November ballot asking if voters in the future and the city’s council should be able to determine a change in the city’s library management. The proposal would have also asked voters in November if the city should not be allowed to seek bids for library management from third parties. Councilmember Dan Kalmick proposed taking the matter to city voters when the council’s conservative majority began discussing third-party library management in March, after former Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey reached out on behalf of his employer, Library Systems and Services, to ask if the city was interested in having the company take over library operations....