Library decision 'reconsidered'

TWEED Shire Council has been left out on a limb in its support for Lismore City Council taking over the Richmond Tweed Regional Library service.

TWEED Shire Council has been left out on a limb in its support for Lismore City Council taking over the Richmond Tweed Regional Library service.

Two other councils which are members of the service, Byron and Ballina shires, have baulked at the takeover which was only narrowly agreed to at Tweed council's August meeting with three of the seven councillors opposed.

Ballina is seeking more legal advice about Lismore's plan to run the service while Byron has flatly refused to be part of the new arrangement.

Tweed deputy mayor Barry Longland who called for independent legal advice at the August council meeting says the whole issue will now have to be reconsidered.

But he has reassured Tweed residents the libraries will continue to operate as normal while their management is being thrashed out.

Cr Longland said at the last council meeting he moved an amendment to obtain further legal advice but the amendment was voted down.

He said the entire issue was "always going to come back for reconsideration anyway" as once Lismore City Council had received a response from the various member councils it had to finalise a draft agreement.

"The concerns I expressed... I dare say are going to be debated again," Cr Longland said.

Last week Byron Shire councillors voted unanimously to reject Lismore's revised Richmond Tweed Regional Library Agreement and Service Level Agreement, which would see Lismore amalgamate and administer library services across Byron, Ballina, Lismore and Tweed.

Instead, Byron Council wants to look at other options, including a county council model that would allow councils to jointly manage the network.

The operation of the network has caused friction since Lismore announced in June last year that it would disband the library committee that previously ran the network and take it over.

At the time, it argued the structure of the network - which had been in place for decades - was in conflict with the NSW Library Act.

However that impediment was recently removed with the state government passing the Library Amendment Bill which makes it legal for councils to jointly manage the network.

Ballina Shire council decided to defer a decision until it undertakes further investigations of how a county council and an independent model would work.

Byron General Manager Graeme Faulkner told last week's council meeting the regional committee should never have been disbanded.

Originally published as Library decision 'reconsidered'