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Home My WebLink About1994-01-10 MinutesMinutes Fayetteville Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting 1/10/94 at 4:00 p.m. Attending: Charles Kirchen, Jeff Koenig, Carol Phillips, Anne Prichard, Michael Thomas - Trustees; Linda Harrison - Fayetteville Public Library Director; Karen Duree - Ozarks Regional Library Director; Mary Jo Godfrey, Lynaire Hartsell, June Jefferson, Mim Neralich, Susan Sissom - Library Staff President Koenig called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. After Thomas requested that line 5 on page 3 of the Minutes for 12/13/93 be changed to "It was seconded and the Board approved.", the Minutes were approved. The only correspondence was a letter from Duree to Koenig concerning the salary allotments from the Washington County Library Fund to the Fayetteville Public Library in 1994. $160,000 will be divided intg,equal quarterly payments. This is $2,000 more than for 1993, based on the asn d valuation of property in the Fayetteville School District. Harrison presented the Statistical Report of December 1993. Though there was a slight decrease in attendance, programs, volunteer hours and circulation, registration did increase. These figures may reflect the absence of a 1993 Christmas program. However, the Year End 1993 Statistical Report showed about a 5% increase in all statistics. Harrison made certain that all the Fund Balances in the Year End 1993 Financial Report agreed with bank statements and paper balances maintained throughout the year. Phillips asked how the Library would be audited this year. Harrison thinks no more will be required than in the past when there were private auditors, because the City's auditor will have less time. They will look at Fund Balances first. Additional revenue from the City is shown at the bottom of page 2 of the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures. Harrison wants to keep the $8,000 separate. Koenig's efforts to secure this for the Library this year were again appreciated. The Mayor and City Board are up for reelection in 1994 and the Library may be working with different officials soon. Harrison feels good about the numbers presented in these Reports. Phillips moved to approve the Financial Reports, Kirchen seconded and the Board approved. Budget adjustments will be approved separately. Harrison then reported on the activity of the Expansion Fund. The beginning balance in 1/1/93 was $18,477.11. Phillips has been given all the invoices that go with the expenditures and now needs to receive a check for $6,562.44 from the Expansion Fund to repay the Operations Budget. Almost all of the Proposed Expenditures are encumbered. More time is needed to review the overdue program. Many of these items will eventually cost less than the posted prices. Harrison hopes to use the difference to hire temporary help to relieve staff of some of their duties so that they can have time to evaluate the overdue programs. Koenig would prefer to have more productive time from current staff. Harrison will look at both possibilities. It is .a high priority for the three people involved but it is hard to find a block of time when all three are available. Training time is also necessary. Thomas requested a definition of an overdue program. Harrison defined it as a software package that will allow the Library 2 to generate, automatically, second, third and forth overdue notices. Right now they are all done by typewriter. Phillips asked if any other library in the Ozarks Regional Library system had a similar program. Duree replied that the Springdale Library has a home-grown locally written program that is not recommended. Koenig understands that there are 3 or 4 software vendors who could present their programs. The new system would run parallel to the old system for a month or two before pulling the plug on the old manual system. Phillips wondered if the week in August when the Library is closed would be an oppontune time, even though other scheduled activities would need to be postponed. Jefferson felt that this question should be resolved long before August. Harrison explained that in the Operations Budget the numbers in the third column from the right margin have been changed, up or down, with the objective of showing nothing overspent. This is a little housekeeping effort for the auditor's benefit. Rent for the Ozarks Regional Library will be included in the December 31, 1993 Financial statement along with the check from the Expansion Fund to the Operations Fund. Then everything will balance perfectly. 1993 has not been closed out yet. Thomas moved the approval of the Operations Budget with the changes heretofore mentioned, Phillips seconded, the Board approved. Duree discussed the millage question. The Washington County Library Board had requested an opinion from the Arkansas Attorney General, Winston Bryant. Bryant's reply to State Senator David Malone, dated December 20, 1993 confirmed Duree's assumption that if a city of 5,000 or more would vote for a city library millage, that city's tax base would be removed from the county's millage. Presently, the County takes in $795,000 from the one mill that is in place. Duree compiled a chart showing this current amount, that 2 mills would generate $1,590,000 and that 3 mills would generate $2,385,000 if no city had a separate millage. The chart also shows what would happen if a city had its own millage. The bottom line for having one mill County and one mill city would be the same, but for one mill County and 2;milis city it would be.$495,000 less. For one mill County and 3 mills city $990,000 less would be collected for all the libraries in Washington County. The County would collect less because they would no longer be collecting in the city. Regardless of whether it is coming directly to the city or goes into the County treasury and is used on a city's behalf or given back in the form of an allotment, the money comes back to the individual libraries in the county in the form of services or dollars if collected on the County level. With a separate millage the city would receive fewer services from the County. Duree feels that if a County millage is not requested, all the libraries in Washington County would be impaired, not just the city with its separate millage. Koenig asked if other libraries want to be part of this request. Duree thinks that some library will need to make a commitment, then other libraries can be moved in the same direction. She would like the Fayetteville Public Library to make that commitment and work with the Washington County Library Board for a millage increase on the county level. Koenig is not willing to make that commitment unless other libraries sign on to it, but he is willing to pass a motion contingent upon their acceptance. Thomas remembers that the Springdale Library Board may be more inclined to be interested in such an effort because they are trying to expand and need more than just increased operating expenses. Duree noted that this request would be for a maintenance and operation millage, rather than a capital improvement millage. Once Springdale finishes their building project they will need additional money to operate. Phillips wondered how long it would be until that project is completed. Duree thinksthe building project would be paid for with the Springdale 1% sales tax, but other projects, such as their new city administration building keep getting pushed forward. Koenig then asked if the 3 Fayetteville Library Board wanted to go on record as being in favor of the millage increase if the Springdale Library Board were not ready. Harrison would like to see the initial motion for increaded millage come from the Washington County Library Board and then other libraries can get on the bandwagon. Duree feels caught in the middle, going from one Board to another. The Washington County Library Board wonders how much help they will receive from their libraries. There was not a lot of involvement from local Boards for the 1988 election for the restoration of the millage. Only a small group of people worked on it. This time the County Board wants to know that they are going to get help from the local Boards. Duree would like all the Boards to get together and talk to each other rather than through her. Koenig then suggested that all the Presidents of the Boards could meet over lunch and offered to commit resources for this. Duree feels the County Board wants everyone from all over the county to work for this. From her conversations with others, she feels that one mill will probably not get the libraries ahead. One mill will mean that some Fayetteville and Springdale city supports that we have now will be traded off for some guaranteed funds from higher library millage. This is what happened when the half mill was restored to one mill. It did not mean that the additional allotment money that came to Fayetteville and Springdale was added on to their budget. It meant that those cities did not put in more money and the budget stayed at the same level as it was with a very incremental increase. Therefore, we need to discuss a millage that is more than one mill. We should be considering 2 mills if we want to go forward with our libraries. One mill might get us some relief from current problems; 2 mills would allow us to have a regional automated system and more materials in different formats. Thomas expects that with the present growth pattern if only one mill is voted in very short order more millage will be necessary. Koenig knows that there will be an additional millage request from the schools, soon. The libraries are not isolated and it might be better to get one mill now and another mill later than to lrnse 2 mills outright. Phillips knows that it is anincredible amount of work to do it twice. Koenig asked if there were any history around this state on the one and 2 mill issues. Duree offered to get that information. Koenig felt this should be considered politically. Little Rock voted for capital and operational millage at the same time. Jefferson added that Pine Bluff voted down capital and operational millage requested at the same time. They were asking for a new building when in fact their city was vacating part of their present building allowing them to expand into it. Also that is a very depressed economic area. Even their library Board was split on the issue and did not offer total support. Kirchen compared Fayetteville to Columbia Missouri where people's attitudes were a little bit more liberal toward expenditures for education and libraries. Koenigbffered to get numbers for the overall tax basis: real property tax, school tax, library tax. These figures will vary all over the County but comparisons can be drawn. Kirchen noted that school districts are not the same as tax districts. Duree and Koenig agreed that it is necessary to have the Presidents of the Washington County, Fayetteville and Springdale Library Boards meet together because they represent the majority of concerns in Washington County. A possible Freedom of Information issue was discussed by Sissom and others and Duree will consult with the County Attorney about this. Kirchen tendered his resignation at the end of his term, April 1994. Phillips moved to name the same slate of officers for the Board for 1994, Thomas seconded and the Board approved. Duree went back to the comment Thomas made about his impression from the meeting of the Springdale Public Library Board he attended that the Fayetteville Public 4 Library Board was instigating a millage increase. Duree feels she originally presented it to them this way. Thomas remembers that at that meeting she corrected herself stating that Fayetteville had not proposed an increase, just asked how Springdale would feel about it. Koenig presented a January 3, 1994 request from Kevin Santos to Bobbye Hay for information. The Annex roof will be repaired in the spring. Snow and ice have been worse than rain. Buckets are all over the Ozarks Regional Library offices. Koenig asked if the Library could write its own specifications and get bids. $18,500 for this roof is in the 1994 CIP budget. He offered to contact those who could get it done soon. Phillips moved that the meeting adjourn, Thomas seconded and the Board approved at 5:15 p.m. Submitted by, Anne Prichard, Secretary Follow-up reports will be given by: Harrison - agenda for purchase of the overdues software program Duree - history of votes for millage increases in Arkansas - County Attorney and FOI approval for Library Board Presidents to meet together Koenig - figures of tax basis for real property, school and library millages - Annex roof project - United Way support in 1995 Thomas - U. of A. Press books