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Willows council keeps independent library board after weeks of dispute over trust funds
Summary
After extensive public comment and trustee testimony about trust accounting and governance, the council voted 3–0 to retain the existing five-member library board and directed staff to recruit to fill three vacancies and work on clarifying agreements and reporting.
The Willows City Council on July 28 voted to retain the current five-member citizen library board of trustees, rejecting proposals to seat the council as the board. The decision followed hours of public testimony from trustees, former trustees and community members who urged the council to preserve independent oversight of library trust funds and community governance.
Several speakers accused city leadership of poor communication about trust-fund accounting; Brian Ramos, a former trustee, said the trustees were distressed by what they called insinuations in a staff memo and that it took months to receive requested interest information. "We finally received it. 2.1%," Ramos said, referring to the reported interest rate. Others, including John Loam, cited the California Education Code requirement that public libraries be managed by a board of citizen trustees and warned against commingling or the appearance of conflict if council members both hold custody and audit responsibilities.
City finance director Joey explained the mechanics of how trust funds are pooled in a city-held money-market arrangement and said interest is allocated to the named trust funds at fiscal-year close and not used for other purposes. After discussion, Councilmember Gary Hanson moved to retain the current trustee structure and to direct staff to immediately recruit to fill three trustee vacancies; the motion passed 3–0. Council also asked staff and the trustee board to work on clarifying the 37-year-old agreement and reporting practices so that trustees and the public have clearer, recorded accounting and meeting transparency.
