LIBRARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES - Lincoln City Libraries

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Library Board Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 10December 19, 2006Mrs. Connor explained that when the library wanted to have flexibility in staffing in what it sawas an emergency, the PAGE contract outlined an emergency in such a narrow way that thelibrary cannot call in staff when needed. The classification of the employee also comes intoplay. For example, if the libraries stopped offering storytime and other children’s programs, theclassification level could be reduced and money could be saved. It is a matter of skill level andwhat tasks a staff person can do based on what classification they are.Mr. O’Hanlon asked what would be the lowest amount saved if a branch was closed.Mrs. Connor explained that it would depend on which branch. Not all branches cost the same. Itdepends of how many hours the branch is open and the experience of the staff at the branches.Long term employees generally cost more than new employees. If you have someone at abranch that has been there for 20 years, their salary will be quite different than a person atanother branch who has been there for two years.Mr. Kirkpatrick asked if he worked at Bethany and it was closed, would he not be able to bumpan employee without as much seniority. Mrs. Connor agreed but explained that the budgetprocess doesn’t take bumping into account until after it happens.Ms. Maly asked if the private money, such as the Hompes fund, count in the reduction. Mrs.Connor explained that private money is not part of the operating fund and does not count towardsthe reduction.Mrs. Anderson asked how much of the media budget is funded by Keno.Ms. Connell explained the entire media budget is approximately $1.1 million. The tax fundedoperational budget portion is $805,000.Mr. O’Hanlon stated that the Board is being asked for priorities but it doesn’t sound as if there isenough information available to set priorities.Ms. Anderson explained that it is a more general process. The Board needs to discuss if it wantsmedia to take the hit and as a last resort close a branch library for example. Or rather thandrastically cut public service hours across the board, would it be better to close a branch? Ormaybe we don’t need an Assistant Library Director. Or maybe we look at the Administrationlevel and say we don’t need an accountant. Again, these are just examples but are the types ofthings we need to discuss. Dollar figures are not needed to set those types of priorities. TheBoard doesn’t need numbers to discuss what is important to it. Does the Board want to starttalking about what things are important to it?Mr. Kirkpatrick stated that he has the same feeling Mr. O’Hanlon does; he would like to knowwhat kind of money we are talking about if branches are closed. That has to be on the tablebecause the City Council is going to make the Library Board put it on the table. The Boardneeds to be broad minded and evaluate all the options. How much does each option save?
Library Board Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 10December 19, 2006Mr. Jones stated that he can give a general idea of costs. Basically, the quadrant libraries costabout $700,000 each to operate, the quadrant libraries being Gere, Walt, and Eiseley. SouthBranch costs about $250,000; Bethany Branch about $200,000; Arnold Heights is about $70,000.Anderson Branch would be less than the other quadrant libraries. Anderson Branch and BethanyBranch operate as a quadrant library and cost about $600,000. The bookmobile costs about thesame as Arnold Heights Branch. Closing a branch would not really affect overhead costs. Youwould have to close more than one branch before overhead, such as Buildings & Grounds, wouldbe affected. Bennett Martin Public Library is difficult to calculate because of all the centralservices that come out of it.Mr. O’Hanlon asked what was included in the Bennett Martin Public Library cost. Mr. Jonesexplained it includes media costs, Buildings & Grounds, Administration, Technical Processing,and Collection Management in addition to the cost of providing public service.Mrs. Connor explained that Administration is 9% of the current operating budget, Buildings andGrounds is 12%, Information and Technology is 15%, Public Service is 41%, and SupportServices is 21%. Support Services includes Technical Processing and Collection Managementand the $800,000 media budget. Public Service consists of all the branches and the circulationstaff at the main library.Mr. Kirkpatrick asked how much staff turnover the library experiences in an average year.Mrs. Connor explained she really didn’t know. Mr. Jones explained that the turnover is reallyonly two or three full time positions a year. Entry level workers turn over at a higher rate.Ms. Anderson explained that if a couple of branches were closed, that would have an impact onthe media budget too. If two libraries were closed, for example, South and Bethany Branches,how much of the media budget would be saved? Ms. Connell thought the savings would bebetween 10% and 15%.Ms. Anderson asked, if as part of the budget process branch libraries were closed, what would bethe public reaction.Mrs. Connor explained that since this is an election year it is hard to tell. There are members ofthe City Council that do not want to close branches. There are one or two members that havesuggested closing branches. It would really depend on the make up of the Council.Ms. Maly stated there is also an outside chance that taxes would be raised.Mrs. Connor stated that the City Council has made it clear that they are not going to raise taxes.Mrs. Connor stated that it is very hard and she is not trying to be difficult but no matter what isdone, shrinking the organization or eliminating components of the organization, it is going tohave an impact. It is not going to be simple and it is going to hurt. There will be a publicimpact. We are public service; public service is what we do. Cuts will have an impact. Thereare certain elements that are needed to make this a library and not a warehouse. We could stop
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LIBRARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES - Lincoln City Libraries

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