SENINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County public libraries will not become privatized after commissioners have reportedly decided to keep the library system under county government jurisdiction.

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A spokesperson for District 3 Commissioner Lee Constantine said Tuesday that after reviewing bids from private companies, commissioners determined that the benefits of privatizing library services did not outweigh keeping library services as is.

In May, county officials said they wanted to explore privatization to see if it would cut costs due to potential funding shortfall.

Ultimately, the plan drew criticism from county residents.

According to officials, people reached out to the county to express concern about what they feared would be an outsourcing of the county’s library services.