KAYSVILLE — Following months of study and emotional public input, the City Council voted Tuesday night to place its library under the Davis County system.

The 3-2 vote met with cheers and jeers from the more than 100 people gathered at the meeting. Some said the move is the only way to save the system outgrown by the community. Others, several of whom held small signs voicing their opinions, said it was akin to giving away city heritage.

The county still has to approve the shift, Kaysville Mayor Brian D. Cook said.

Kaysville's Library Board will meet today to determine the next steps, chairman Bruce Allen said.

"I'm very disappointed, obviously. I think we can do a better job for our citizens," Allen said.

The question of merging the city library with the county system has come and gone over time. In January, following years of trying to raise money for expansion and a failed $4.5 million bond election, city and county officials voted to look into the feasibility of shifting services.

Council member Neka Roundy wanted to ensure the library would stay in the city, get a bigger facility and that no one would lose their jobs in the event of a shift. The county, she said, could offer no such guarantees.

Councilman John McCleary also worried about losing approximately $50,000 in general city funds in the transfer.

"It's part of our history and heritage," he said of the library. "We're tearing our city . . . tearing our families apart by doing this. . . . I don't see anything we would gain."

But Councilman Casey Hill said merging would increase the collection in the growing city's library from 50,000 to 500,000 offerings.

Colleague Christopher Snell said the library has done a great job, but the community has outgrown it.

Both men vowed to try and send any excess tax dollars from the shift back to the people.

"Those of you holding up signs (to save the library)," said Councilman Gil Miller, "if you don't think that's what all five of us are trying to do, you are mistaken."

Audience member Andrea Richards agreed.

"I'm grateful the City Council has been able to reach a decision," Richards said, adding she has no doubts a library branch will remain in the city — and with greater offerings. "The numbers in Kaysville will dictate (that)."

But resident Lynne Rogers believes the city is "giving away part of its heart.

"Everything the county has touted they can do for us, our library does," she said, adding librarians know patrons' names and even the kinds of books they like.

Allen says his board would attempt to smooth a yearlong transition.

"One of my biggest concerns is employees" essentially pink-slipped by the decision, he said. They may apply for work with the county, which has different job qualifications and a merit system.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com