ESCONDIDO — The Escondido Public Library, which is currently operating out of the North County Mall during building renovations, will continue to be run by a third-party operator for at least two more years after a City Council vote last month.
In 2017, the city entered into a professional services agreement with Library Systems & Services (LS&S) to operate the library for 10 years, ending June 30, 2027.
At the time, the move was highly controversial among residents, many of whom feared that outsourcing the library to a third-party contractor would compromise its integrity as a public asset. None of the current council members were serving on the City Council at the time the decision was made.
In January 2024, the city approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds to operate the library. Later that year, in June, the city terminated its existing professional services agreement with LS&S and entered into a new deal using ARPA funds, which expires on June 30, 2026. That decision provided more than $3 million in relief to the city’s general fund, reducing an anticipated $10 million budget deficit for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
With the deadline approaching and ARPA funds now exhausted, costs must return to the city’s general fund to continue providing library services. Under the existing agreement, the city was required to approve an extension by Jan. 1 to continue working with LS&S beyond June 30.
The City Council approved the extension on Dec. 17 by a 4-1 vote.
The contract extension allows LS&S to continue providing library operations through June 30, 2028. The city will pay LS&S approximately $3.2 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year and $3.3 million in 2027-28.
According to staff, the extension will keep the library operating in the near term while giving the city time to identify long-term funding sources once the agreement expires.
City Manager Sean McGlynn said that because the library is undergoing a major renovation funded by a $10 million library infrastructure grant, it is difficult for staff to determine the full operational costs until reconstruction is complete in mid-2026.
In addition, McGlynn noted that the City Council’s decision to prioritize Measure I revenue — the city’s one-cent sales tax — for public safety, infrastructure, and homelessness initiatives has created funding gaps for library operations going forward.
“We will have to entertain additional revenue and options,” McGlynn said.
Several members of the public expressed frustration with the city’s decision to place the LS&S extension on the Dec. 17 agenda, questioning why there was not more public involvement in the process.
Escondido resident Laura Hunter described the item as a “last-minute, manufactured crisis.”
“Where is the commitment from the city to pay for our library? This is a public asset that should be a priority of ours,” Hunter said.
Hunter also questioned the continued outsourcing of the library to LS&S, noting that the original 2017 agreement promised the return of Sunday hours. The library, however, has remained closed on Sundays since the pandemic.
“We have been waiting nine years to try to take our library back into public hands,” Hunter said. “It should not be run for corporate profit.”
Hunter and others urged the city to explore partnerships with the county’s library system as a way to stabilize Escondido’s library operations.
According to staff, Sunday hours were first eliminated during the 2008 recession but returned after the city entered into its agreement with LS&S in 2017.
In-person library services were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When services resumed in 2021, the city chose not to reinstate Sunday hours due to limited foot traffic and instead extended weekday and Saturday hours.
While operating from its temporary location at the North County Mall, the library is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and remains closed on Sundays.
Staff expects to begin discussions with the City Council and the public in September regarding the library’s long-term funding and service options.
Most council members agreed that the two-year extension was reasonable, but emphasized that more robust community engagement will be needed going forward.
Councilmember Consuelo Martinez cast the lone dissenting vote. While she said she has been satisfied with LS&S’s performance, she criticized how the extension was presented to the council.
“We could have prevented this to some extent,” Martinez said. “I want us to do better in communicating with the public.”
