Buellton council approves library management lease with Goleta; no change to operating hours

Buellton City Council voted on June 26, 2025, to approve a lease agreement for library management services with the City of Goleta. The council approved the contract after a brief discussion; the agreement does not include any expansion of the library’s operating hours, City Manager Scott Wolf said.

The contract was approved in a roll-call vote during the meeting. Council member McCormick voted yes; Council member Sanchez voted yes; Vice Mayor Lewis voted yes; Mayor Silva voted yes. The motion carried and the lease was approved.

City Manager Scott Wolf told the council the proposed increase in the city’s payment stems from two primary factors. “No. At this point, this does not include any operating hours expansion,” Wolf said when asked about hours. He said the increased amount “reflects an increase in the budget from prior years primarily due to 2 factors. 1 is the addition of an additional charge that is held in reserve on behalf of the city by the City of Goleta, to pay for, essentially, our early exit should we decide to do that. ... The second aspect … has to do with just increased labor costs that they’ve experienced, and the fact that for the prior five years … we did not see any increase to the city share.”

Council members who raised questions asked staff to follow up with Goleta staff on timing and to provide any additional specifics by email before the next meeting. City Manager Wolf said he had reached out to Goleta staff and would follow up with council members.

The approval preserves the current management arrangement and funding plan described by staff; any change to library hours would require a future evaluation and separate action by council.