August 20, 2009 Board Minutes

Call to order at 4:01 p.m. by vice president Enos

Present: Carlson, Derouin, Eisen, Enos, Nebel, Werley, Wicihowski, Wisneski

Also present: Director Saecker, J. Bongers (Head of Adult & Technical Services), K. Seefeldt (Administrative Assistant)

 

1.      Motion to authorize payment of the July list of bills from the 2009 budget by Werley, seconded by Wisneski, and carried unanimously.

2.      Motion to authorize payment of the August list of bills from the 2009 budget by Carlson, seconded by Wicihowski, and carried unanimously.

 

3.      Approve minutes from the Board meeting of June 18, 2009.

4.      Accept minutes from the Nominations Committee meeting of June 18, 2009.

Motion to approve consent business as presented by Eisen, seconded by Derouin, and carried unanimously.

 

5.      Statistics.   July proved to be another busy month at the library. Circulation increased overall by 7.7%.     

6.      Welcome New Board Members. Director Saecker introduced new Library Board members Gary Wisneski and Rick Carlson. Gary Wisneski is replacing Ros Stanke. Rick Carlson is an interim replacement for Keith Fuchs until a new Superintendent of Schools is hired by the District.    

7.      2010 Library Budget and MOE. Maintenance of Effort for libraries in our state is the average of the last three years of funding. It is expected that our library will be held to MOE for 2010, which means that our budget will be reduced by approximately $22,000. Budget increases that are anticipated include health insurance 8%, retirement 6%, electricity 9% and salaries/wages 1%. We are due a revenue increase of $16,000 from Winnebago and Calumet Counties as a result of our increased circulation last year. Overall, Director Saecker anticipates a $6,000 reduction in our 2010 budget.

Eisen stated that he attended the Winnefox Library System Board meeting that was held here on July 29^th. He gave a brief summary of topics of interest that were discussed at the meeting.

 

8.      Election of Officers.  Sue Werley presented the following slate of officers on behalf of the Nominations Committee: Jill Enos for the office of president, Sue Werley for the office of vice president, and Paul Eisen for the office of secretary. There were no nominations from the floor. Nominations were closed.

 

 

Motion to approve the slate of officers for 2009-2010 as presented by Carlson, seconded by Wisneski, and carried unanimously.

9.      Appoint Standing Committees. President Jill Enos made the following appointments:

Finance Committee: Nebel (chair), Carlson, Eisen

Policies & Personnel Committee: Wicihowski (chair), Werley, Wisneski

Buildings & Grounds Committee: Enos (chair), Derouin, Carlson

Investment Committee: Enos (chair), Nebel, Director Saecker

10. Day/Time of Board Meetings. Library Board meetings will continue to be held on the third Thursday of each month at 4:00 p.m.

11. Request for Consideration Form. Director Saecker presented a new version of our Request for Consideration form for the Board’s consideration. Discussion ensued.

Motion to approve the updated Request for Consideration form as presented by Nebel, seconded by Eisen, and carried unanimously.

12. Staff Retreat Closing. Director Saecker planned a staff in-service for Friday, October 30. She requested that the library be closed from 8:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. so that all staff would be able to attend. Jeff Russell will speak on Resilience in the Age of Uncertainty. Eisen stated that he opposed this closing because it fell on a date when the State Teacher’s Convention is scheduled to be held and all public schools will be closed. He felt it was imperative that the library be open all day to meet the needs of students. Discussion ensued. 

Motion to table this item until a future meeting by Eisen, seconded by Wisneski. Three voted aye, five voted nay. Motion failed to pass.

Motion to approve a half-day closing for a staff in-service on October 30, 2009 as presented by Carlson, seconded by Werley. Discussion ensued. Five voted aye, three voted nay. Motion passed.

13. Fund-Raising Discussion. Nebel advocated for the Board to fulfill the July 1, 2009 salary increase that had been authorized for staff at the beginning of the year. It was removed by the Library Board at the June 18^th meeting at the request of the mayor. On June 15^th, the City’s Common Council approved a salary freeze as recommended by Mayor Merkes. This freeze halted the 1% raise that was due to go into effect on July 1, 2009 for all City non-reps and department heads, including library personnel. It was then brought to the Library Board for approval at the June meeting. Nebel requested permission to explore various ways for the Board to honor this commitment. Carlson noted that it is not the Board’s responsibility to raise funds for staff salary increases. He also noted action had already been taken by the Board on this topic; therefore, it should not have been brought back to the table. Nebel stated that he had discussed this matter recently with the mayor and with some members of the Common Council and was informed that they had not recommended a salary freeze for library employees. Director Saecker noted that Nebel was in error. Nebel was reminded that Library Board trustees are members of a governing body and must act as a body. Any personal discussions he had with the mayor and aldermen on this topic, without the consent of the full Board, were not done in accordance with this.

14. Trustee Essential #10. Eisen reviewed Trustee Essential #10 Developing Essential Library Policies.

 

 

Jill Enos volunteered to review Trustee Essential #11 Planning for the Library’s Future at the September meeting.

Eisen noted that it was good to see the revenue increases that appeared on our recent quarterly Endowment and Memorial Fund reports from the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley.

 

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:10 p.m. by Carlson, seconded by Werley, and carried unanimously.

 

The next regular Board meeting will be held in the Gegan Room on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Eisen, Secretary

Kris Seefeldt, Recording Secretary