In response to a vacancy on the Santa Barbara County’s Library Advisory Committee, the Goleta City Council is accepting applications to fill the unexpired term.

The committee seat is open to all residents of the city for a one-year term from July 1 to June 30. Members of the advisory committee work alongside the city and county staff to address budgetary and legislative decisions affecting the county’s libraries.

According to Goleta City Clerk Deborah Constantino, the decision to accept applications came after the preceding replacement for committee member, Debbie Aceves, stepped down prior to the end of her term.

“What previously the council had done was appointed a replacement, and then she stepped down from the position,” Constantino said. “So now we see it better to go ahead and appoint someone that is a resident of Goleta to fill that vacancy.”

Despite the need to find a qualified applicant, Constantino said there have been difficulties finding a Goleta resident willing to apply.

“For some reason people have not stepped up for this position in the past as much as we would have hoped,” Constantino said. “Of course, if we receive multiple applications, then we will request that the council hold interviews to determine the best candidate to fill that vacancy. But if we do not receive any applications then we will probably ask the council to appoint somebody to the position.”

As part of the advisory committee, members will have additional responsibilities to their role as advisors to the city and county staff.

According to Michelle Greene, administrative services director for the city of Goleta, members of the committee spend a large portion of their time networking between the different branches of the county’s library system.

“Most of the time it is a lot of networking and information sharing,” Greene said. “They are an information conduit, but they also have the opportunity to recommend decisions to their city and county councils.”

Greene also said the committee holds regular meetings to stay informed on the current condition of the facilities under their supervision.

“They meet quarterly and they discuss issues of mutual concern for the county’s library systems and the cities of Santa Maria and Lompoc,” Greene said. “Usually they involve funding, budgeting, operational issues and legislation that affect the libraries.”

In spite of their position to oversee the county’s libraries, the committee members don’t make the final decision on issues they address during their gatherings.

“They do not have direct decision-making authority for individual operations or branches,” Greene said. “They act as an advisory committee to the board of supervisors and the city they represent.”

Applications for potential candidates are available at the office of the City Clerk. The deadline for application submissions is Sept. 27 by 5:00 P.M.