Carbondale Reporter

City of Carbondale Library Board met  Oct. 4.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Call to order. Called to order at 4:30 p.m.

Roll call. Introductions, audience and visitors. Visitors are asked to introduce themselves at this time and present any issues they wish to discuss. Visitors wishing to address specific agenda items will be granted two to five minutes at the discretion of the President, not to exceed a total of twenty minutes. The Library Board may cut short any comments that are irrelevant, repetitious, or disruptive. (Id. at 1425-26).

Present. Philip Brown, President; Roland Person; Barbara Levine, Vice President (1); Julian Pei; Joyce Hayes, Secretary; Harriet Simon (2); Don Prosser, Treasurer; (3) Sharifa Stewart (1); Susan Tulis (2)

Absent. None.

The number following the Trustee’s name indicates the number of absences this fiscal year.

Staff present. Diana Brawley Sussman, Library Director; Gwen Hall Grosshenrich, Finance Manager

Visitors present. None.

President’s report.

1. Bylaws review and possible revision of Article IX (Trustee Attendance). No change was made to the bylaws. Trustees who need absences excused in accordance with the bylaws may write a letter to the Board President.

Secretary’s report.

1. Approval of the September 13, 2017 minutes. Susan Tulis motioned to approve the minutes. Barbara Levine seconded. Revision needed in one sentence in the Librarian’s Report. MOTION passed unanimously. Correspondence and communications. Discussed property tax appeals.

Financial report.

1. Approval of bills payable up to and including bills due October 16, 2017 to November 15, 2017. Some bills are estimated, not yet received. Phone Macs has an e-rate-funded contract for cabling. They require 50% payment up front. E-rate will reimburse us 80% of project costs. Don Prosser made a motion to pay bills, including half of the Phone Macs bill. Harriet Simon seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

2. Acceptance of the financial report for September 2017. No property tax revenue has been received yet. Philip Brown moved to accept the financial report. Roland Person seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

3. Adoption of preliminary FY19 budget. The Library Director presented two potential budgets. Budget A listed no levy increase. Budget B listed a small increase of 1.45% (a $15,000 increase). A home retailing for around $150,000 saw a.50 reduction in taxes this fiscal year, as we did not raise the levy. If there is zero growth in FY18, and the library increases its levy by 1.45%, that same house would see a tax increase of about $2.50 per year.

Don Prosser made a motion adopting Budget B. Susan Tulis seconded. Philip Brown stated that he was not in favor of increasing the levy. Don Prosser stated his opinion that the cost of government is not static. He doesn’t think a 1.45% increase is anything to be embarrassed about, if anything it is conservative. He thinks this budget is too tight. Barbara Levine pointed out that it would be prudent planning to do a small increase and avoid needing a larger increase next year. The board reviewed the library’s history of not raising the levy for multiple years. This practice put the library in a position of needing to raise the levy by 4.9% for several years in a row. Even after those increases, the library did not have enough in reserves to get through the first few months of the fiscal year without acquiring a bank loan, which cost around $1,000 in interest and fees. In the library Director’s first year, she and two other full time staff members each took one month of unpaid furlough and took other cost saving measures to stabilize the library, reversing the gap between revenue and expenses. Philip Brown conceded that he was convinced. MOTION passed unanimously.

4. Adoption of FY19 levy. Julian Pei made a motion to adopt a levy of $1,046,953 (a 1.454% increase). Roland Person seconded. MOTION passed unanimously.

Librarian’s report.

1. Building and grounds maintenance and construction. Maintenance Manager Jimmy Kalert is most likely resigning. He has a job offer for an Engineering position in Nashville, Illinois. A new air conditioner had to be installed in the Brush building. It cost $6,404. 2. Per Capita requirement: Review and discuss chapters 3-4 of the Trustee Facts File Third Edition. Reviewed and discussed chapters 3-4 for per capita requirements. The board’s bylaws all comply and the board abides by everything listed in both chapters.

Committee reports. None.

Unfinished business. None.

New business. None.

Other. Harriet Simon mentioned the Friends’ upcoming October book sale. Adjournment. Adjourned at 5:30 p.m.

http://explorecarbondale.com/sites/default/files/pdf/agenda/2017-agendas/121917/2017-12-19%20Regular%20City%20Council%20Meeting%20Boards%20%26%20Commissions.pdf