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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bids to run library not made public

The city of Spokane Valley has not yet released to the public proposals submitted Tuesday to provide library services next year because it’s examining whether proprietary information from a private bidder should be kept confidential.

Library Systems & Services LLC (LSSI), a Maryland-based company, was one of two entities to bid on the city’s future library contract. The other, Spokane County Library District, posted its proposal on its Web site one minute after Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline.

“This really demonstrates the contrast between dealing with a public agency and dealing with a private company,” District Director Mike Wirt said. “Whereas (the district process) is totally out in the open for everyone to see, apparently that isn’t the case when you’re dealing with a private vendor.”

The city opened up the contract to competition this summer to see if it could spend less on library services. The district runs the Valley library branch now under a $2 million, one-year contract, and it provided library services to Valley citizens before incorporation.

On Monday, The Spokesman-Review submitted a public records request to view the new contract proposals. By law, the city has five days to respond to such requests, either by releasing the documents, denying them or explaining why it cannot immediately do so.

Spokane Valley Deputy City Manager Nina Regor said Friday that the staff needs to study LSSI’s proposal and redact, or edit out, any information about the company’s private records. City Attorney Stanley Schwartz said that could include financial information, such as balance sheets and asset backing, which the city asked bidders to submit.

Schwartz said he’s advising the city to talk with the private bidder about the redactions before the proposal is made public.

“I think we want to give them the courtesy of notice that we have a public records request, and that it details their banking information,” he said.

“We want to give the provider of that information the opportunity to make a decision concerning release of that information,” Schwartz said later.

If the city decides to release information that LSSI wants to keep confidential, the company can ask the Spokane County Superior Court to step in, Schwartz said. A judge would then review the matter and determine what the public has the right to know.

If that happens, Schwartz guessed that it could take two to four weeks for a decision. The City Council is expected to appoint five citizens to a committee to study the proposals at its meeting Tuesday. Those citizens plus two council members will recommend to the council which contractor to select. But the committee won’t be able to see the proposals until they are released by the city.

At the same time, the city’s staff will review the proposals, too, and make its own recommendation to the council.

The district’s contract expires Dec. 31. If the private contractor prevails, it will have to ready a building, a library collection and a staff in a short period of time.

“If they choose to go with LSSI, I cannot see how the … company would be able to get operations going by January the first,” Wirt said.

LSSI didn’t return a call for comment Friday.

The library issue has raised the hackles of some citizens in recent months. Some feel the city is rushing the bid process and should contract with the district for another year to fully study its options. Some feel libraries should be run by public agencies. Many, including City Council members, feel the district provides good service.