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Council signs amended one-year MOU with Siskiyou County for library services
Summary
Council approved a one-year Memorandum of Understanding with Siskiyou County defining building- vs. content-responsibilities for the Dunsmuir branch and amended the term to 6/30/2025 to allow earlier review of county support and fees.
The Dunsmuir City Council voted Dec. 19 to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Siskiyou County that clarifies which party is responsible for physical structure and utilities and which is responsible for library contents and programming.
City staff described the MOU as largely unchanged from the prior agreement and said the document "basically outlines who's responsible for what," with the city covering structure and utilities and the county responsible for books and internal contents. Public commenters raised concerns about the MOU's fee provisions and about the county—s support for the branch.
Councilmember Lucchese criticized the county's handling of the system and urged a shorter term to allow Dunsmuir to revisit the arrangement. "I'm fine signing an MOU for one year," Lucchese said, moving to amend the MOU—s expiration to June 30, 2025. The council approved that amendment and then approved the MOU as amended.
The record shows residents sought clarity about which entity authored the agreement and raised worries that fee schedules (including a $20 charge for a lost book noted in the packet) could burden economically disadvantaged patrons. Council members said the county typically handles programming and circulation for branches and that historic funding arrangements limit what communities can demand from the county without additional local funding.
Next steps: the amended one-year MOU will be implemented while staff and council pursue further discussion with the county about long-term service models and potential alternatives.
