Tualatin presses county for guarantees as Washington County library IGAs near adoption

City Manager Cherylyn Lambos told the Tualatin City Council on April 27 that two new intergovernmental agreements (a governance IGA and a five‑year operating IGA) negotiated for Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) would replace older agreements and change how county library funding is allocated.

The council learned the new operating model ties allocations to service populations and staff‑equivalent (FTE) “units.” Under the proposal Tualatin’s service population was listed at 30,148 and the city’s initial Year‑1 base allocation was presented at just over $2.0 million (15 FTE units × $128,000 per unit, plus a minimum 5% uplift from current levels), Lambos said.

Why it matters: the IGA would centralize several back‑office and collection‑management functions and begin a multi‑year “collection centralization” project that, WCCLS materials say, could generate systemwide efficiencies. City staff and many councilors said they support cooperation but urged the county and WCCLS to spell out protections for locally‑held collections, clearer dispute‑resolution steps and firmer commitments on the county’s annual general‑fund transfer, which WCCLS projects would supply roughly 45% of the system’s first‑year funding.

“The IGAs tighten roles and responsibilities and provide a clearer governance structure, but they also create real risks we need to manage,” City Manager Cherylyn Lambos said. “The biggest risk is that a significant portion of WCCLS funding comes from the county general fund and that transfer is ultimately set in the county’s annual budget process.”

Tualatin’s library staff emphasized they value the cooperative’s interlibrary lending, shared catalog and digital resources. But Emily Yoner, treasurer of the Tualatin Library Foundation, told the council the foundation is “unanimously opposed” to the draft IGA as written because it would shift meaningful purchasing authority away from local libraries and limit the community’s ability to shape the local collection. “This is our library in our community and it should remain under our control as much as possible,” Yoner said during public comment.

Council members pressed for concrete safeguards. Concerns included: - Guaranteeing a role for local staff and elected officials in determining what remains in a Tualatin‑focused local collection after any centralization; - Adding a clear dispute‑resolution process and remedies for material breaches of the IGA; and - Avoiding a termination‑for‑convenience framing that would let the county end the agreement or remove a contractor’s participation with limited notice.

City Attorney Kevin told council that the current drafts include a non‑appropriation clause and other county protections that could, in practice, let the county reduce transfers if its budget changes; he recommended seeking stronger contractual language around remedies and dispute resolution before signing. “There are several legal provisions we want clarified. Termination language and lack of a robust dispute resolution procedure are the clearest gaps,” he said.

Next steps: city staff must submit written feedback to the county; initial comments were due May 1, and the county’s board was scheduled to review member feedback May 12 with adoption targeted on May 26. Council members said they will press the county to preserve local collection autonomy, to clarify who decides what is purchased systemwide, and to commit to a cooperative dispute‑resolution mechanism. The current local option levy funding expires June 30; under the draft IGA Tualatin must be a party to the new agreements to receive allocations under the new formula.

What to watch: how the county responds to member cities’ redlines on dispute resolution, local collection protections and the handling of any shortfall if county general‑fund transfers are reduced in future budget cycles.