County atty. to consult Germantown about library privatization
Source: By AETNA SMITH, Jackson Sun (TN), Mar 20, 2006
At this morning's meeting, Madison County commissioners questioned the spirit of the Jackson-Madison County Library Board's bid proposal to outsource. The commission did not take any specific action. The Library Board says it wants to provide better services and longer hours while maintaining the budget of the jointly-funded library. Some members of the Friends of the Library have said the only way to do that is to jeopardize the salaries and/or benefits of current staff. Earlier this month, a legal advisor with the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service issued an opinion that under Tennessee law, library boards don't have express authority to contract out services. The opinion was sent to answer questions by county attorney Jerome Teel. ..... Younger pointed out that the library boards of Germantown, Collierville, Arlington and Millington had hired a private library vendor and were operating under the same state laws as the local library board.