West Florida Public Library
Moreno Cancels Library Board Meetings for the Summer—In Violation of County Resolution and BOG Bylaws
County Administrator Wes Moreno has called off all Board of Governance meetings through the summer, including today’s, citing a need to “evaluate scheduling and the BOG vacancies.” The move runs counter to a resolution requiring monthly meetings and bylaws that hold the board accountable for library operations.
Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno has canceled West Florida Public Library Board of Governance meetings for the summer, including the one scheduled for this afternoon.
- County Public Information Officer Kaycee Lagarde texted me the explanation: “The BOG meetings are being canceled for the summer so we can evaluate scheduling and the BOG vacancies.”
Why this matters: The cancellation fits neatly into Moreno’s broader narrative: that the Board of Governance is nothing more than an advisory committee, one he can manage, postpone, or sideline as he sees fit.
- The governing documents say otherwise.
Resolution Violations
Moreno’s decision violates Resolution R2013-17, the document that established the Board of Governance in January 2013.
Section 6, Regular Meetings, states:
“The Board of Governance shall establish a schedule of regular meetings, which shall be held at least monthly. A schedule of each year’s regular meeting shall be distributed to all Board of Governance members in December of the preceding calendar year.”
Nothing in that language gives the county administrator authority to cancel a meeting that has already been properly noticed to the public. The resolution puts the scheduling power in the board’s hands—not his.
The cancellation also undercuts Section 3, which spells out the BOG’s duties:
“The Board of Governance shall submit an annual budget in accordance with the budget calendar to the Board of County Commissioners for the period commencing on October 1st and ending on September 30th of each fiscal year. The annual budget shall be subject to the approval of the Board of County Commissioners.”
By canceling meetings through the summer, Moreno is directly hampering the library board’s ability to do the budget work the resolution requires of it.
Bylaw Violations
The BOG’s own bylaws reinforce the same obligations.
Article V, Section 1 states:
“The BOG shall meet monthly. The BOG shall set the meeting days for the year in advance, in November of the preceding calendar year. A draft schedule of each year’s regular meetings shall be distributed to all members of the BOG at the regular December meeting.”
Article VII goes further, defining what the board is actually responsible for:
Section 1: “The BOG shall establish and review policies and advise the management of the WFPL and make recommendations to the BCC regarding the annual budget according to the purposes and authority set forth in the Resolution, the Interlocal, and such other agreements, and State and Federal laws.”
Section 2: “The BOG is accountable for the administration and operation of the WFPL.”
Section 3: “The BOG shall submit an annual budget in accordance with the budget calendar to the BCC.”
That last set of provisions exposes the contradiction at the heart of Moreno’s decision. The bylaws make the BOG accountable for the administration and operation of the West Florida Public Library. A board cannot be held accountable for something it has no opportunity to oversee. If it isn’t meeting, it isn’t reviewing policy, advising management, or working through the budget calendar—all things the bylaws say it must do.
The bottom line: Resolution R2013-17 and the BOG’s own bylaws require monthly meetings, set on a schedule the board adopts itself, with no provision allowing the county administrator to cancel them. Moreno’s stated reason—evaluating scheduling and vacancies—is not among the powers granted to his office under either document.
Whether this is framed as an evaluation of “scheduling and vacancies” or not, the effect is the same: a board that the resolution and bylaws say is accountable for the library’s administration and operation has just been told it won’t meet for months, with no public vote, no board input and no clear authority cited for the decision.