Counties' library feud approaches final chapter

• At issue: bill for almost $68,000 Outagamie incurred before Barack Obama began his second term
• In 2013, Outagamie County libraries briefly barred Brown County residents from borrowing materials
• In October 2014, Outagamie County supervisors voted 31-3 to reject a settlement offer from Brown
• Bills from Brown are based on books, CDs and DVDs checked out by residents of individual counties

GREEN BAY - A library dispute between Brown and Outagamie counties that has dragged on longer than "War and Peace" appears to be in the final chapter.

The case was scheduled to go to trial later this summer, but Brown County's recent request to adjourn the trial indicates a resolution may be near.

"It looks like it will be settled before the (trial) date," Brown County Library Director Brian Simons said Friday.

At issue is a bill for almost $68,000 that Outagamie County incurred before Barack Obama began his second term in office. The county has refused to pay for its residents' use of Brown County libraries in 2011 and 2012, saying that a 2006 law that allowed counties with consolidated library systems to bill neighboring counties was unfair.

The law, which the state changed in 2013, enabled Brown County to collect almost $218,000 from four of its neighboring counties in 2011 alone, but Outagamie County wouldn't pay its bill. The issue prompted Brown County and its library system to sue for $67,933 plus interest and attorney's fees in January 2015.

PDF: Read the lawsuit

Claim and counterclaim

Outagamie County filed a counterclaim the following month, asking a judge to dismiss Brown County's and order it to pay Outagamie County's court costs.

Joe Guidote, Outagamie County's attorney, said in legal papers that Wisconsin law was "discriminatory" because it allowed Outagamie County to be billed for its residents' use of Brown's libraries, but prevented Brown County from being billed.

The difference was basically on paper: Brown County was a member of a consolidated library system; Outagamie County wasn't.

The law "violates the equal protection clause of … the Fourteenth Amendment because it lacks a rational basis for discriminatory and inequitable treatment of Outagamie County," Guidote wrote.

Bills were based on books, CDs and DVDs checked out by residents of individual counties. Each loan costs Brown County about $2.95. The county was not allowed to bill for e-books and other electronic materials.

While Outagamie County refused to pay, Oconto County paid out almost $126,000 for residents' use of Brown County's libraries in 2011. Kewaunee County paid $68,000 that year, prompting county officials to ask residents to reduce their use of Brown County's libraries.

The $34,000 per year payments would have enabled Brown County to add a half-time employee to its staff. The county system has the equivalent of 86 full-time employees to cover nine libraries and a bookmobile. Together the sites are open about 23,000 hours each year, Simons said.

"It has inhibited what we could do," he said. "We've had to cut back on some things, pull back on others."

Lengthy timeline

The two sides have gone back and forth on the possibility of a settlement, according to emails and dozens of pages of other records USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin obtained via an Open Records law request. Conversations in 2013 and 2014 sometimes became contentious:

In 2013, Outagamie County libraries briefly barred Brown County residents from borrowing materials from libraries in Appleton and elsewhere.

In August 2013, Brown County library officials wrote in an email that they were "not interested in conducting any further discussions regarding the invoice … Simply put, it is time for Outagamie County to pay its bill." The email said Outagamie County was acting as if it was "above the law."

"We are not interested in continuing to discuss the invoice because there is nothing more to discuss," the email said.

Days later, Outagamie officials canceled a scheduled meeting between the two groups, saying they were "disappointed with the decision."

"Corporation Counsel Guidote," they wrote, "… will be communicating Outagamie's position by letter."

Talks resumed in 2014. Kristen Hooker, an attorney for Brown County, wrote that she and her counterpart in Outagamie County had discussed settling the case for about $62,000. She wrote that Outagamie County later refused to offer more than $50,000.

In October 2014, Outagamie County supervisors voted 31-3 to reject a settlement offer.

It is not uncommon for county governments to charge other counties for services. For example, Brown County would charge another county if the other county had arranged to have one of its prisoners housed in Brown's jail. Manitowoc County billed Kewaunee County for about $4,000 for library usage in a recent year.

dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider

At a glance

The amounts that Brown County has charged neighboring counties for 2011 library use.

Calumet County: $1,597

Kewaunee County: $68,404

Manitowoc County: $22,063

Oconto County: $125,913

Outagamie County: $33,281