ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
AGENDA
REVISED
4:00 p.m. Thursday, October 21, 2010
Gegan Room
(If Board Members cannot attend, please notify the Library Office)
CALL TO ORDER:
PUBLIC COMMENT:
AUTHORIZATION OF BILLS:
- List of bills for October 2010.
MINUTES:
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting September 16, 2010.
ACCEPTANCE OF COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES:
3. Minutes. Minutes of Policies and Personnel Committee meeting October 4, 2010.
4. Minutes. Minutes of Finance Committee meeting October 7, 2010.
INFORMATION ITEMS/DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
5. Statistics.
6. Board Changes.
7. Menasha Utilities Donation.
8. Community Foundation Reports and Endowment Report.
9. WLA.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
10. Policies and Personnel Committee Recommendation for Meeting Room Use.
11. 2011 Budget.
12. Unpaid Leave Request.
13. Director Evaluation.
14. Trustee Essentials.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
15. ADJOURN
UPCOMING MEETINGS & ACTIVITIES
(Including requests for business items for future meetings)
· Library Board Meeting – November 18 at 4:00 pm
· WLA Annual Conference – November 2-5 in Wisconsin Dells
Menasha aldermen may attend meetings of this body. A quorum of the Common Council, Board of Public Works, Administration Committee, or Personnel Committee may attend this meeting. No official action of any of those bodies will be taken.
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY
DIRECTOR’S REPORT – October 2010
1. Bills. REQUESTED ACTION: Approval of bills as presented for October 2010.
2. Minutes. Minutes of Board meeting September 16, 2010. REQUESTED ACTION: Approve minutes of meeting.
3. Minutes. Minutes of Policies and Personnel Committee October 4, 2010.
4. Minutes. Minutes of Finance Committee October 7, 2010. REQUESTED ACTION: Accept minutes of both committee meetings.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
5. Statistics. Our statistics for September are down compared to a year ago. Adult circulation is basically flat from 2009. In children’s, we saw a decrease of 7.8% under 2009. We had decreases as expected in the collections that we have eliminated. While we saw nice increases in magazines, CD-Books, music CDs, DVDs, children’s Playaways and children’s CD-Books, we had decreases in children’s books, Playaways, children’s DVDs, and children’s magazines. For the year, we are seeing a maintenance of the 2009 levels on average with some months up and others down.
We also saw 39% of our circulation on the self-check machines, one of the highest percentages we have had.
6. Board Changes. In the last month, some of our board members have changed. Dr. Kobylski has decided to appoint Sue Werley to serve in his stead on the library board. He does plan to come back to the board in the future. John Nebel has resigned from the Board. Mayor Merkes is seeking a replacement for him at this time.
7. Menasha Utilities Donation. We are working with Menasha Utilities to add to our collection of material on energy efficiency. They have donated $435 to the library to purchase materials in different formats on the subject. We look forward to getting the materials out on the shelves and into people’s hands.
8. Community Foundation Reports and Endowment Report. The Community Foundation Reports are in your packet this month. You received the Endowment Report in September. The discussion of these items was tabled until the October meeting.
9. WLA. I will be speaking at WLA this year. I’m part of three panels and will be talking about Facebook and Twitter tools, managing your online identity, and great new websites.
I have also been re-elected to the WLA Board as Secretary. I look forward to working further on the restructuring of WLA Units. Additionally, I was asked to run for MATS Secretary and also won that position. It is the WLA Unit that focuses on technology in libraries, so it’s a good fit.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
10. Policies and Personnel Committee Recommendation for Meeting Room Use. The Policy and Personnel Committee met on October 4th. They are recommending to the Board that the existing Meeting Room policy not be changed. Additionally, they recommend that the Toastmasters be allowed to continue meeting twice a month for six months through 2011. They recommend that the exception for that group be removed in 2012. REQUESTED ACTION: Remove exception for the Toastmasters, effective 2012.
11. 2011 Budget. Our 2012 budget has us being held to MOE or the minimum amount required by state statute which is the average of the last three years of funding. In 2011, the City will be giving their employees a 2.5% increase in wages/salaries (1.5% in addition to the 1% that was approved for December 31, 2010.) This will be combined with five furlough days where the City will close City Hall and other city services.
The Finance Committee discussed furloughs and pay increases at their meeting and came to no firm recommendation. The options are:
1. Match what the City is doing for other employees with a 2.5% increase and 5 furlough days and no step increases.
2. Reduce the increase to 1% with no furloughs and no step increases.
3. Reduce the increase to 1% with 5 furlough days and no step increases.
The cost savings of the furloughs is almost equal to that of the 1% increase with no furloughs. Choice #3 will see a doubling of the savings but a net loss to staff in wages.
It is my recommendation that we match what the City is doing. This keeps our staff in step with those at the city, rather than our staff having comparable others in the city with larger salaries.
If the Board decides to move ahead with furloughs, we need to discuss how they will be handled. There are two ways that we can furlough staff. We can have floating furloughs where staff work with their departments to have furlough days off and library hours would not be changed. Or we can do assigned furloughs, which is what the City is doing, closing the library for five days during the year.
It is my recommendation that we do assigned furloughs. It shows that the library is also taking measures to cut costs in a clear way. It also allows us to have full staff at a time when our usage is high. Floating furloughs will be invisible to the public and will also leave us shorthanded in the library.
Additionally, I will be looking at any retirements or resignations very seriously as to whether they must be filled or not. It is my intention to only fill positions that are absolutely necessary for library function.
REQUESTED ACTION: Approve budget, including salary/wage increase and possible furloughs.
12. Director Evaluation. The time for my evaluation is drawing near again. It needs to be completed by the December board meeting. At that meeting the evaluation and my wage increase will be discussed and approved. It is my request that I get the same wage increase and furlough days as my staff.
13. Trustee Essentials. We had talked about taking a brief break from the Trustee Essentials until autumn. Autumn is here! I need a volunteer to do Trustee Essential #19 on Library Director Certification.
