March 19, 2009
Teton County Library Board Meeting
March 19, 2009
President Bill Wotkyns called the meeting to order. Attending were board members: Anne Ladd and Patricia Moeller, Staff members: Director Deb Adams, Assistant Director Isabel Zumel, Facility Manager Dail Barbour, and Landmark Business Forum presenter Kristin Moeller. Also attending was Andy Schwartz, Teton County Commission liaison to the library board.
Correspondence: None
Approval of Minutes: Anne moved to approve the Feb. 19, 2009 minutes, Patricia seconded, all voted in favor.
Section 215 Report: There have been no requests under Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Financials:
Deb informed the board that the library is continuing to meet the 10% budget reduction for this year requested by the County Commission and absorb the health insurance increase. The IT Supervisor vacancy may generate a little under run which Deb recommended should go in the capital repairs reserve at fiscal year end. She explained that the library will begin with an internal advertisement for the vacancy. If filled internally, we would need to go back to the County Commission for permission to fill the resulting staff vacancy. Anne expressed a concern about the library’s autonomy in terms of management abilities. Andy Schwartz said the major reason for the County Commission to be taking a more “hands on” approach in these areas is to ensure that practices are consistent across the county.
Monthly Report
Approve Vouchers: Anne moved to approve the vouchers, Patricia seconded, all voted in favor.
Review & Approval of Pre-authorization Recommendation for Amazon On-line Payment The library schedule for cutting checks makes our payment to Amazon always late resulting in a late fee. We can make an on-line payment to avoid the service charge if there is board pre-authorization. The payment would be made the same day as the board meeting and be reported to the board with other financial transactions. Deb will find out if two signatures are required for this procedure. Patricia moved to approve preauthorization of the Amazon on-line payment, Anne seconded, all in favor.
Librarian’s Report
Update on Summer Vacancies Plan:
The County Commission did not give approval for filling these positions. Originally, it appeared that the library would have to close for some hours with this scenario. However, staff members from several departments have agreed to redirect some of their time to cover the shortfall of public desk hours. This is a temporary fix will result in the delay of public programs and computers classes, as well as putting several library services projects on the back burner. Isabel reported that desk coverage is still about eight hours short in the area of library paging. The library is looking at several solutions and possibly involving more volunteers.
IT Manager Vacancy: Covered in Financials Section
Review & Approval FY 10 Budget Recommendation-5% & 12% reductions
Board member Clark Heindl joins the meeting.
Deb started with an estimate of revenues and then provided the board with a budget spreadsheet with both options. With both scenarios—5% & 12% reductions, the priorities are that everyone works, everyone keeps their benefits, and the library remains open 7 days a week. We will continue to focus on quality and the personal nature of our services, with a commitment to keep our programs free and available to everyone. Management voluntarily took a reduction in hours as well as some staff to attain the 5% reduction budget. As the collection budget was greatly reduced, there will be a significant impact to library materials and less ability to fill patron requests. Anne asked about ILL revenue. Deb said that ILL fees will stay the same. Clark inquired about the general staff mood concerning the request for voluntary hours reduction. Deb said she was hearing that staff had good feelings about being able to keep their jobs and benefits. She was also receiving lots of suggestions for creative ways to help with the budget as well as offers of other kinds of assistance. The 12% reduction plan would still have the same priorities for staff and the public: everyone is working, everyone keeps their benefits, the library is open 7 days a week and services and programs are still free. However, if a 12% reduction is enacted, there would have to be across-the-board cuts in staff hours which would mean the library would have to reduce its open hours.
Andy explained that the county won’t know until fall how revenues compare to last year as there is a delay in sales tax reporting figures. The county is now averaging every three months to compare as quarterly figures provide a better snapshot. Bookings are looking good for summer but construction does not look too good. Andy was asked about merit increases: would they be given if county funding looks much better? He said yes if funding was down a very small percentage. He emphasized that the County Commission is hoping to be able to get through next year with only a 5% cut. Deb explained that in addition to the 12% option she is also doing a 20% option just to have plan C. Andy said it is an opportunity to review all county services and become more efficient. There was a short discussion about library fines which currently generate about $2000.00 a month in revenue.
Clark moved to approve the library budget recommendation for FY 2010, Anne seconded, all in favor.
Facilities Planning
Dail updated the board on the Alta project which continues to be on schedule. The Planning Commission review will be on Monday, March 23, 2009, and she encouraged the board to attend in support of the project.
The board moved to the Admin conference room for the Landmark Business Forum training by Kristin Moeller. The presentation is a combination of leadership training, empowerment, communication, and interactions with others.
The board adjourned at 7:00PM.
Dail Barbour
Administrative Assistant to the Teton County Library Board
