The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1995-02-13 MinutesFAYETTEVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES February 13, 1995, 4 p.m. Attending: Mark Burdette, Jeff Koenig, Carol Phillips, Anne Prichard, Michael Thomas -- Trustees; Linda Harrison, Fayetteville Public Library director; Karen Duree, Ozarks Regional Library director; Mary Jo Godfrey, Lolly Maxey, June Jefferson, Cynthia Christie, Susan Sissom, Sarah Houk, Mary Loots, Susie Walker, Nancy Stiglets, Priscilla Seaman, Lynn Stewart, Shawn Walker, Leona Carr, Jeanne Gardner, Gina Beeks, Kathy Stephens, Lynaire Hartsell -- staff; Phyllis Rice, City of Fayetteville; Alderman Stephan Miller; Bob Wileman, Chuck Bilbe, patrons; Michelle Parks, Northwest Arkanas Times; Russell Ray, Morning News of Northwest Arkansas. President Thomas called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. The board went into special session to consider amendments and corrections to the library's problem patron policy. The packet was introduced by a memo from Jefferson stipulating that the policy had been approved by Jerry Rose, City Attorney, and that the rough drafts had been completed and approved by the library board in 1991. In the memo, Jefferson noted that all the problem behavior descriptions had now been demonstrated at the Fayetteville Library and that police intervention had been necessary at times. Harrison said the policy gave the board an idea of the type of problems that have occurred at the library and said the policy had taken a long time to develop. Prichard asked about some language in the rules governing smoking, saying the wording made it sound as if smoking were allowed. Harrison told her that this was a city policy regarding smoking areas for employees and that, as a city -owned building, the library wassmoke-free under policies adopted by the city during a previous. administration. Jefferson added that the wording was straight from a city ordinance. Phillips asked about outdoor smoke receptacles. Harrison noted that the library had one and noted that it was located outside the entrance to the children's library. Phillips said she had not noticed its location, even while she was sitting on the bench. Phillips also asked about wording at the introduction of the policy statement. She questioned the need for "consciously or unconsciously" in the definition of problem behavior. After some discussion, the board decided to leave that phrase in the statement. Phillips also suggested eliminating the phrase, "Once the library builds a reputation for being thorough with offenders, they will stay away." The board agreed, calling the sentence unnecessary. Phillips asked who monitored the situation when the remedy for a behavior was listed as "out for the day." How did the library personnel assure that that person remained out of the facility for the day? Jefferson said it was a matter of training and diligence. Jefferson also said the term of being asked to leave for the day was intended to be punitive. The board also agreed to change "out for the day" in the action statement to "patron will be asked to leave for the day." Board members expressed the most concern for problem patrons in children's services. Phillips questioned the wisdom of asking children to leave the library. "What if the child got hit by a car after being asked to leave?" she asked. Maxey said that when children are misbehaving or stay longer than the allowed time, the children's staff explains what the policy is when the parents return to the library and that they are not to be left longer than an hour. Phillips raised the question of liability on the library's part. Jefferson noted that the policy was written up to avoid "habitual baby-sitting" by the staff. The board requested the city attorney look over the children's policies and determine the level of responsibility the library had to assume and at what age children could be responsible for themselves. Thomas pointed out that there were provisions in the policy to hold children in the facility until parents returned. Jefferson noted that the policy was initiated because of a habitual problem of parents leaving their children at the library to be "babysat" by staff members, habitually disruptive children, or parents leaving their children at the library when the building was closed. The policy was seeking to remove librarians from being responsible for children left unattended and were based on other libraries' models, she said. Koenig said that the legal accountability is still there, and Thomas agreed. Koenig repeated that he wanted Rose to read over the guidelines and determine the responsibility. Phillips repeated her concern for the children's safety, especially in light of the policy of asking children to leave the library. The age clarification again was asked for. Koenig said he wanted to see "clear guidelines" from the city attorney. Prichard questioned the fine amounts in the policy. The board agreed with Harrison that this was a matter for the courts to decide. The board indicated that a clarification was needed in the problem patron policy as it applied to patrons' non-verbal complaints about other patrons' behavior (i.e., staring at a staff member as a form of complaint). After much discussion, the board agreed that the language needed to indicate that staff members should be aware of non-verbal signals from patrons that they are being annoyed by the behavior of other patrons: staring at staff members, moving away from other patrons, etc. The board requested that a clarification be made of who is in charge at the library when Harrison is not there. Phillips also noted that what is considered obscene language by some would not be considered obscene by others. She noted that this would require a keen judgment call. Phillips asked about the incident report; Harrison noted that the form included was for the library's own records of events and incidents. Jefferson further explained the chain -of -command structure for evenings when the library is open and Harrison is not present. Those on duty from 5 to 7 know who is in charge each day in each department, she said. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m. * * * President Thomas called the regular meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. The minutes from the January 9, 1995, meeting were approved (Phillips, Prichard). Harrison told the board she had included copies of recent articles and letters to the editor of the local newspapers in the members' packets, noting that not everyone takes or sees all the newspapers in the county. The letters concerned public reaction to the library's closing on Saturdays and funding problems. Also included in the packet was a letter from David W. Dubbell, president of Pel-Freez of Rogers, requesting information on the operating budget and library usage. Thomas said that Dubbell had not come to the library for the information "and did not appreciate the fact that he was supposed to come to the library." He said he and Harrison would follow up on the matter. Thomas asked Rice if a member of the public could obtain a copy of the city's budget. Rice said that the budget is large, but the public could obtain specific portions of it. Harrison then presented the statistical report, telling the board that members now can see the effect the reduction in hours has had on total figures. Jefferson noted that icy weather had contributed some to the drop in attendance and circulation figures. No questions were asked on either the statistical or financial reports. The reports were approved (Koenig, Burdette). The board next turned its attention to a discussion of the 1995 operations budget. Thomas told the group that the board had discussed the funding situation with the city "at various levels" and that Burdette had met with Steve Davis, budget coordinator, after the last library board meeting. Burdette characterized the meetings as "interesting," and said the city had made some points about the financing issue, "but it's important to consider our points, too." He suggested the city's working with the library board to address short-term problems this year and look at long-term solutions next year. Thomas said he had met with two city administrators and with Rice, Mayor Fred Hanna's assistant, and all the city representatives expressed concern with the perception that library officials have "that we're being treated as stepchildren." They gave him figures, he said, from 1989 forward, and, although he would not distribute the list, he did cite from it: The library budget increased 5, 15, 20, 38, 18 and 24 percent over the period from 1989 to 1994, he said. The growth increase was 34 percent for 1995. Each year's growth was built upon the previous year's growth, he said. The total percentage of growth for the library during that period was 78 percent, he said, while general government growth during that period was 51 percent. Administrative services were 59 percent, police 63 percent, fire 8 percent, he said. Public works excluding the library was 40 percent; including the library, public works was 65 percent. Capital expenditures, extra space renovations for the library, were $360,000 in 1989 and in 1991 was $193,000 and in 1992 was $177,000. Harrison noted that those figures represented a construction project, not an on-going expense. Thomas said that, clearly, the city had supported the library, but that it hadn't supported the library enough. He noted Davis had brought a piece of legislation to his attention that would allow the library to ask for 2 mill. After some discussion, it was agreed that two constitutional amendments since that time allowed for libraries to assess up to five mills, by a vote of the people. The city could allocate additional millage from discretionary mills, Thomas added. Rice noted that the city had rolled back its discretionary millage in 1993 to allow for passage (reapproval) of the city sales tax and to allow for millage to be dedicated to the Fayetteville Public School system and to the library. At present, one mill is being collected for police and fire retirement funds. She also noted that the sales tax has a sunset clause that allows it to be retired 10 years after voter approval. She also noted that the library could initiate a referendum on a millage on city voters only. Koenig responded that the city could assess the remaining four mills at any time it wishes, with a majority vote of the council. He said the library would like to request a discretionary mill from the city until such time as more permanent funding for the library could be established through a direct library millage. The library would have to request two mills in a library millage vote, he said, to make up for the mill it would lose in county -wide collection should the library seek a city-wide millage. (Under state law, if Fayetteville voters approved a city millage for library services, they would not be assessed the county 1 -mill library tax. To make up for that loss of revenue, Fayetteville voters would have to approve two mills of city tax. Koenig told Rice that the issue became confusing when consideration of a city -only library tax was discussed.) Koenig said that the library board was asking the city for interim funding by asking for a discretionary mill. He said that Mayor Hanna had said that the city council would not approve. a millage without a vote of the people, but he said the November 8 election had shown that Fayetteville voters approved of additional funds for the library by a vote of at least 2 -to- 1 - Thomas noted that there was a sunset clause to the library board's request, too. The board would ask for a discretionary mill only until itcould get the revenue from a library millage, he said. Rice said that point had never been made clear to the city administration. Thomas said a local bank official had assured the board that, should the city fund the mill, his bank would provide a loan at "attractive" rates to provide operating expenses. Rice said that loan would have to be approved by the city attorney. Thomas said $321,000 could be raised by the 1 -mill discretionary tax. He also said that the city had suggested trying for a city library millage and contracting for Ozarks Regional Library services in the same way that the City of Rogers contracts and participates in the regional library system. Duree presented items that were discussed at the county library board meeting. She said the county had come up with $46,000 in funds that the county board previously had included in surplus funding. Of that amount, she said, Fayetteville and Springdale would receive what amounted to a 51-49 percent split, with Fayetteville receiving 51 percent; that share comes to $26,340. Koenig asked if Fayetteville could expect that amount in 1996. Thomas said he understood that it was a one-time donation. Duree confirmed this. She further said that it was an amount taken from reserve funding and it could not be counted on for the 1996 budget. Duree said the county representatives were not willing to cut library services at the smaller facilities. Thomas and Koenig asked if smaller cities in the county had been asked to support those libraries more financially. Duree answered that all the cities currently do provide support, and they were willing to continue to support the libraries and possibly increase the support. Burdette said that the smaller cities were not content to support Fayetteville's financial problems. Thomas, Koenig and Phillips noted that residents of Fayetteville had mentioned their support of the board's decision to close on Saturdays. Koenig also noted that the board had voted to spend some long-term development money before the November 8 election to present a positive face to the public; the board voted to keep the library open so that voters would not feel pressured to vote for the tax, he said. Thomas called for questions. Bilbe asked about taking away the 1 -mill county assessment and going for a two -mill city assessment for the library tax. Thomassaid that was only an option that was not being considered at this time; he said an attorney general's opinion had said the county mill would have to be dropped if the library asked for a citywide -only library millage. Bilbe asked if a Fayetteville resident would also be assessed the county millage. Thomas and Harrison said no; that is why the city would have to askfor two mills, because the county mill would be dropped. Christie, a staff member, asked Thomas if the language should be clarified to state that fact. Thomas said all of the language used in discussing the matter so far has indicated that the county millage would have added one additional mill. Should the citywide millage be pursued, the language would reflect that it would be a total of two mills, to make up for the loss of the one -mill county tax. Thomas also noted that the City of Springdale has a "voluntary" one -mill library tax that is collected from residents of Springdale only. Had the county millage increase been approved, he said, the voluntary tax would have been dropped. That is why the Springdale Library is in better financial shape than the Fayetteville Library, he said. Bilbe asked if the library could not get the city -only one -mill tax. Thomas said the library could ask for one discretionary city mill. Bilbe asked if the library could get one additional library mill from the city only. Thomas said it could not; that is where it would lose the one county mill. He said one mill would raise $153,000; by having to drop the county tax, that would place the Fayetteville Library $153,000 "behind the game." Koenig said the political reality of the situation is that the library would have to ask for two mills to get the extra funds it needs, and two mills are "harder to sell" for public approval. Duree said two mills probably would not be sufficient for a long period of time. Rice added that one mill actually would generate $167,000 now; Koenig replied that that would still not be sufficient to make up the loss of the one county mill. Burdette told the group that Phillips had done a very good job in talking to the Washington County Library Board. The staff members gave her a round of applause. Thomas next turned the discussion to the city council meeting that library board members had attended on February 7. The meeting was quite lengthy and included much discussion of setting a moratorium on the rezoning of agricultural land and other matters. He said they were the last item on the agenda and were there until 11:15; Alderman Steve Parker had placed the item on the agenda. He wondered why the library could not have continued to operate under its old schedule with inadequate personnel, among other things, and noted that the council had given the library more money than it had originally budgeted for its services. Other aldermen wondered why the library couldn't close all evenings and open half a day on Saturday, he said, not realizing that using the utilities for half a day would cost almost as much as using it for a whole day. The board explained again that the surveys showed that Monday was the library's busiest day. Aldermen questioned if closing that day would not shift that day's business to Tuesday, and Thomas said he could not be sure of that. The main concern was being open on Saturday, he said, with several aldermen saying they themselves could not get to the library any day except Saturday. Thomas said he had assured the aldermen the board wanted to see the facility open six days a week. He said the aldermen said "to a man" that they wanted to help the library, but what they couldn't afford, they couldn't do. He said they wanted to see the library do something with the extra funds they now had. Thomas noted that the board had been discussing earlier (during the policy review session) that they could not afford another $45 smokers receptacle to be placed on the grounds. But he said he had assured the council that the board would do what it could, and the council and the mayor had promised that they would do what they could to support the library. Alderman Stephan Miller concurred with Thomas's account and said he was just wondering how he could get the telephone calls from patrons to him stopped. The group laughed. Thomas jokingly replied that at least the library board couldn't afford to take out a full-page ad telling patrons to call the city council. Loots, a staff member, asked if it would be a proper time for her to make a suggestion about hours. Thomas said it was. Loots said she had worked at a library at Helena and at North Carolina, both of which had to cut hours because of funding. Those libraries had employees come in at 8 or 8:30 a.m. and work at shelving, carding and other duties until the facility opened to the public at 10 or so. They had uninterrupted hours in the pre -opening hours to get work done and that made more staff available during operating hours to assist the public. Those libraries found they could do with less staff, she said, because of the level of uninterrupted work that was done before the libraries opened. That might allow the facility to be open on Saturday, she said. Phillips said that idea had merit. Bilbe said that was important to the public, to be open on convenient days. He said more hours at the end of the day would be important, too, for people who have working hours themselves. Thomas said that idea presents difficulties because of the layout of the building, with three departments in different locations. Phillips noted that time has passed, so the board is no longer concerned with being open six days a week 52 weeks a year. What the board needs to determine now, she said, is how long the library can stay open on Saturday until the end of the year. Harrison said the library could do that now, but it wouldn't have the money for any evening hours at all. Phillips said that was unacceptable, because some people would say they could only come to the library on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Koenig said he agreed that there were costs involved with utilities, but the major costs still involved personnel. He said the library was closer to balancing the budget now than it was at the first of the year. Phillips reminded the group that it had an additional $23,000 (from the county library board) with which to work. Jefferson said that opening a half day on Saturday would not really solve the problem, because when the library goes to a six -day -a -week operation, it spreads the staff, which fits in five days. The library would have to ask some workers to work six days a week, which it has never done, she said. If Saturday services are restored, she said, those who worked on Saturday will return to Saturday work schedules, which will leave gaps in the other five days of the week to maintain the proper level of service. Some workers' schedules could be cut, she said, while others would have to work six days a week to resume Saturday hours, even for a half day. In other words, she said, a full-time worker will work a half-day on Saturday and then work another half day elsewhere or work a very long day. Phillips asked again if the $23,000 would not help alleviate the situation with staffing. Godfrey said that the genealogy library had not been open evenings; they had tried being open on Tuesdays until 7 p.m. in 1993, but the staff did not note a crucial need for evening services based on that trial. However, she said, Saturday is the busiest day for the genealogy library, and she would like to see Saturday service restored. Many out-of-town or out-of- state patrons count on being able to visit the library on Saturdays, she said, and the staff has no way to contact all the patrons and let them know that Saturday services are not available. Phillips noted that that was another facet of the misfortune of the library's being closed on Saturdays at all. Thomas said, "What we can't afford, we can't do." Thomas asked Maxey what happened with children's services in the evening hours, noting the bulk of complaints had come from families with children regarding the Saturday closing hours. Maxey said the library was busy. from 3 p.m. until closing, whatever hour closing occurred. Burdette told Harrison that he had found $42,000 in the budget that could be used to reopen the library on Saturdays for the rest of the year. He asked if he was not correct in saying that the additional $23,000 would allow for half-day operation on Saturdays. Harrison said no; that amount added to the $67,000 that had been added by the city to the budget would allow for half-day operations. She noted that the original target -overrun budget called for an additional $140,000 to keep a six-day operating schedule. Koenig and Burdette agreed that the library budget was some $20,000 short of being able to operate six days a week with the current two evenings of being open until 7 p.m. Phillips noted that the public was upset with the cutback in hours. "How much more upset could they be with us if we went another month and said, 'You know we haven't been able to be open in January and February. And if we're not open in March, for sure we can offer you service by the first day of April.'"? With three months of closure, she asked, could the facility. then not reopen? With that thought in mind, she noted, the board would have to consider that in January 1996, members would have to face the closing issue again if no more money was added to the budget. "It is still inevitable that if we do not have more funds, somehow, we will close again next year." Jefferson said the reopening would be more likely to occur in two months than in one month. Jefferson asked if the board was asking to resume the full 1994 schedule. Phillips said yes. Koenig noted that the operating schedule would be reduced by one-quarter of a year. The library has 26 employees now, in either full or part-time positions, Phillips said. Jefferson said that 3.45 FTE (full-time equivalent) employees had been removed at the end of December. Burdette advocated maintaining the present evening -hour schedule. Phillips called for staff reaction. She noted that the board had saved three months of expenses and had obtained an additional $23,000. Maxey said the staff had problems with not knowing what the situation would be. Single parents and other with family responsibilities have difficulty in adjusting schedules, only to have to adjust them again, she indicated. Library employees have to arrange their lives around the library schedule, she said. Thomas noted that the board had "much homework" to do, but it was his opinion that if the facility reopened on Saturdays, the board would find more cooperation in securing more funding. He asked Bilbe for his opinion. Bilbe said the "PR damage" was already done and one more month of staying closed would not cause any more harm. In fact, he said, if he were running a business with a shortfall and suddenly found himself with a windfall, he would be more conservative and not reopen until May or mid-May. That would offer more of a cushion, he said. Loots said that if the staff could tell the public the library would be reopening on Saturdays in the months to come that it would have a positive effect on patrons. Walker, a staff member, said she favored reopening on Saturdays, but the stop -gap measure, which doesn't insure that the situation won't happen again, was a cause of concern for her. Phillips said she didn't know where else to go for funding. If the city does not grant a discretionary mill, "we've just about tapped out Washington County," Phillips said and asked Duree for verification. Duree agreed that Washington County could offer no more funds. Koenig said what needed to be done between now and January was to secure another source of revenue. Bilbe said the library staff, just like in "the real world" couldn't be sure of any funding situation. Thomas said he hoped an outgrowth of public attendance at library board meetings would be a greater understanding on the public's part of how the board functions and the problems that are associated with the running of the library. Philllips said that Koenig was asking her to make a motion. Harrison said that the staff would still "have to put pencil to paper" to determine when the reopening could take effect. After some discussion, Phillips made the motion to have the library reopen on Saturday at the earliest date that it could be determined that the revenue would support. Prichard seconded the motion. Jefferson asked for clarification on the hours the board wants the facility to be open. It was determined that the library would reopen on Saturday and maintain Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Christie commented that the staff wanted to see the restoration of full hours and full staff and didn't want to see the issue of full funding and staffing swept under the rug. Phillips said she believed that the board had exhausted all other means of funding. The group discussed approaching the city council again. The board also noted that a special election for a library millage would cost some $17,000. Parker had told Thomas that a special election would be held on a brew -pub issue; Thomas said he would not be comfortable sharing the library millage with that ballot. Koenig added to the discussion that school millage might have to increase under state law. Phillips restated her motion; Prichard was the second. The motion was approved. A report on the volunteer committee was tabled. The computer program for overdues was discussed briefly. Harrison reported that a check for $10,000 had been received from the estate of Mary Alice Pearson. Phillips asked that the check be placed in the library account (Prichard seconded). The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned (Prichard, Phillips) at 6:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Susan M. Sissom Library Staff