MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
December 20, 2007
Call to order and roll call at 4:38 p.m. by President Fuchs.
Present: Eisen, Englebert, Enos, Fuchs, Stanke, Werley
Absent: Eckstein, Foth
Also present: Director Saecker, J. Bongers (Head of Adult Services), M. Loch-Wouters (Head of Children's Services), K. Seefeldt (Administrative Assistant)
Item #9 on the agenda was moved to closed session because it concerns compensation of employees.
Authorization of Bills
1. Motion to authorize payment of the December list of bills from the 2007 budget by Stanke, seconded by Englebert, and carried unanimously.
Consent Business
2. Approve minutes from the Library Board meeting of November 15, 2007.
3. Approve minutes of the Personnel Committee meeting of November 26, 2007.
4. Receive minutes from the Long Range Planning Committee meeting of November 14, 2007
Motion
Motion to approve the minutes from the Library Board meeting of November 15, 2007, the minutes of the Personnel Committee meeting of November 26, 2007 and to accept the minutes from the Long Range Planning Committee meeting of November 14, 2007 by Eisen, seconded by Enos, and carried unanimously.
Director's Report/Information Items
5. Statistics. Lending statistics for November were down 3.7% overall from last year. Reference transactions increased and programming attendance continued to be strong.
6. Donations. We received a donation of $100 from the Apple Knitters Guild that will be used to purchase knitting books. We also received $100 from the teachers at Butte des Morts Elementary School in memory of Laurie Scheibel. We received two additional gifts - one in memory of Patrick J. Clifford and another in memory of Genevieve Nemick.
Discussion/Action Items
7. Easter Sunday Closing. It has been decided that the library will be open on winter Sundays beginning in January, 2008. The Board was asked to approve closing the library on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008.
Motion
Motion to approve closing on Easter Sunday in 2008 by Eisen, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.
8. Donations for Fox Cities Reads, Fox Cities Book Festival and WLA Foundation. The Library will be participating in the Fox Cities Reads and the Fox Cities Book Festival in 2008. Both programs are sustained by the libraries and organizations who are participating. Director Saecker requested that the Board approve a donation of $500 to each of these two programs, as well as a donation of $500 to the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation, which works on behalf of libraries throughout the state.
Motion
Motion to approve donations of $500 each from the Endowment to Fox Cities Reads, Fox Cities Book Festival, and WLA Foundation by Enos, seconded by Eisen, and carried unanimously.
9. Additional Hours for Two Staff in 2008. This item was moved into closed session as it pertains to the compensation of employees.
10. Public Faxing. Director Saecker recommended changing our policy to incorporate public faxing at the library, which would include charging $2.00 for the first page sent, $1.00 for each additional page sent, and 10 cents for each page received.
Motion
Motion to approve public faxing as a new service at the library at the recommended rates by Eisen, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.
11. Premium Saturdays & Sundays. The Board had previously questioned our practice of offering premium pay on summer Saturdays and winter Sundays. The hours that staff work to receive this premium pay are in addition to their regularly scheduled hours. Director Saecker noted that all libraries of similar size in our area offer premium pay for winter Sunday hours. She acknowledged that our library may be the only one to also provide premium pay for summer Saturday hours. She also noted that these benefits have been beneficial in recruiting quality employees, and recommended that we continue to offer them to our staff. Eisen presented information pertaining to Appleton Public Library's premium pay policies. Director Saecker noted that the exemption status of APL's staff is different than ours, as is the status of their library's annual budget. The Board acknowledged that the Common Council had approved the Library budget which includes premium pay for these Saturday and Sunday hours in 2008, but felt it is necessary to discuss the pros and cons of these benefits prior to drafting the 2009 budget. There was a consensus to include this topic on the agenda for their March 2008 meeting.
Motion
Motion to adjourn into closed executive session pursuant to WI Statute 19.85 (1)(c) for the purpose of considering promotion, compensation or performance evaluation of employees by Eisen, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.
Seefeldt, Bongers, and Loch-Wouters left the meeting at 5:06 p.m.
9. Additional Hours for Two Staff in 2008. Director Saecker recommended that one Librarian II position in the Children's Department be increased from 18 to 20 hours per week and that one Aide position in the Circulation Department be increased from 8 to 14 hours per week. Discussion ensued.
12. Salary Steps. Director Saecker presented the names of staff scheduled to move ahead steps on the salary scale. Discussion ensued.
13. Performance Recognition Step. Director Saecker presented the name of one staff member eligible for a performance recognition step increase. Discussion ensued.
Director Saecker left the meeting.
14. Director Evaluation. The Personnel Committee presented the results of their performance evaluation of the Director and recommended a level of compensation to the Board. Discussion ensued.
Motion
Motion to adjourn closed session and reconvene in open session at 5:43 p.m. by Werley, seconded by Englebert, and carried unanimously.
Saecker and Seefeldt joined the meeting at 5:43 p.m.
Motion
Motion to approve increasing one Librarian II position in the Children's Department from 18 to 20 hours per week and to approve increasing one aide position in the Circulation Department from 8 to 14 hours per week by Werley, seconded by Stanke, and carried unanimously.
Motion
Motion to approve salary step increases as presented by Enos, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.
It was requested that the Personnel Committee review the existing practice of awarding step increases.
Motion
Motion to approve an employee performance recognition step as presented by Enos, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.
Motion
Motion to award a 2% cost of living increase to Director Saecker effective April 1,2008 and a subsequent 2% increase effective October 1, 2008 by Enos, seconded by Eisen, and carried unanimously.
Werley requested that a summary of the Personnel Committee's performance evaluation of the director be completed by President Fuchs and that a copy be kept on file.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:47 p.m. by Werley, seconded by Englebert, and carried unanimously.
Future meeting dates
The next regular board meeting will be held in the Gegan Room on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Seefeldt, recording secretary
