Minutes September 10, 2012

Approved November 12, 2012

The Gwinnett County Public Library Board of Trustees held its regularly scheduled meeting on September 10, 2012 at the Collins Hill Branch. Present were Board members Phillip Saxton-Chair, Betty Atkinson-Vice Chair, Suzanne Skeen-Treasurer, Babs Wagoner-Secretary and Dick Goodman. Administrative staff members present were Nancy Stanbery-Kellam-Executive Director, Liz Forster-Deputy Director, Jane Walters-Business Services Director, Barbara Spruill-Branch Services Director, Kim Rodriguez-Human Resources Director, Deborah George-Materials Management Director, Michael Casey-Information Technology Director and Shannon Sheffield-Administrative Assistant. Other administrative staff was also in attendance. Betty called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM.

Report from Nancy Stanbery-Kellam, Executive Director

Georgia Public Library Services Strategic Planning

Nancy shared information and dates for the state library strategic planning sessions. Registration is now open to library trustees and Friends of the Library.

Summer Reading Program (SRP)

The children, teens, and families of Gwinnett County enjoyed another fun-filled summer. Overall registration was 36,378. This is down only 3% from last year.

Community Partnership Events Pictures

Nancy shared a scrapbook filled with photos from recently held author events.

Report from Margaret Penn, Assistant Branch Manager-Lawrenceville Branch

Fall Into the Arts (FITA)

Margaret announced the events for the 3rd annual FITA program and gave Board members a brochure with all the event details.

Literary Event: September 29 at 6:00, Gwinnett Kids Read, too! presents children’s author Carmen Deedy, Lawrenceville Branch
Literary Event: October 7 at 5:00, Gwinnett Reads keynote speaker, Natasha Trethewey, U.S. Poet Laureate & Pulitzer Prize Winner, will be speaking and signing books, Georgia Gwinnett College
Performing Arts Event: October 11, 8:00, “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” play, New Dawn Theater
Visual Arts: Chair-ish the Arts @ Your Library contest, inviting artists, art groups and organizations to submit chair art, on display throughout the month of October

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Motion by Goodman to approve the August 12, 2012 Meeting Minutes as distributed, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous. Motion adopted.

Citizen to Address the Board

Tope Afon, a resident of Grayson and frequent user of the Grayson branch, made a suggestion to extend open hours to allow customers to use a portion of the branch, like the quiet room, for a nominal fee. She stated that because of the reduction in hours, it is inconvenient for some professionals and families to visit the library.

Phillip thanked Ms. Afon for sharing her concerns and ideas with the board.

FY2012 Financial Items

Library Financial Statement - June 30, 2012

Jane discussed the Financial Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance – Actual and Budget for the Year ended June 30, 2011. Revenues for FY2012 totaled $18.6 million, nearly $48,000 over the total revenue budget. The Library has satisfactorily completed the County’s contingency requirements for the first half of calendar year 2012 and received the respective payments. Fines and Lost Material revenues totaled $746,040 representing 96% of their total budget. Fines and lost material revenue are 9.6% ($79,125) less than the prior year. On-line used book sales of $30,296 exceeded its budget by 38% or $8,296. General Fees & Merchandise of $266,399 exceeded its budget by 13% or $30,399. This line includes revenue from copy/printing fees, out of county cards, collection fees and merchandise sales. Other Revenue of $61,019 includes various non-budgeted revenue received from donations, recycled books program, affiliates, library awards, community grants and bookmarks. Expenditures for the year totaled $19,187,840 representing 91% of the overall expenditure budget. Personnel expenditures of $13,668,232 were $1,031,802 less than budget and may be attributed to unfilled positions resulting from the Library’s hiring freeze and continued efforts to restructure the Library staffing model. Material expenditures of $3.3M and material encumbrances of $281,014 at June 30, 2012, utilized nearly 100% of the materials budget. Operations Expenditures totaled $2.2M at June 30, 2012, representing 77% of the operations budget. The operation expenses were less than budget due to E-rate reimbursements of $233,252 and the continued proactive curtailment of operation spending. Fiscal year 2012 expenditures exceeded revenue by $525,720. The fund balance was used to cover this deficit; thus reducing the Fund Balance. The Library fund balance at year-end is $6.6M and is classified into the following three categories: 1) Committed Funds of $2.2M has been approved by the Library Board to provide the resources for the future replacement of library technology infrastructure and vehicles. 2) Assigned Funds of $1.6M provides the resources to balance the FY2013 budget and cover the FY2012 carryover encumbrances. 3) Unassigned Funds of $2.7M represent the contingency reserve of $1.6M and remaining funds of almost $1.2M.

Dick had questions about the Unassigned Funds. Jane affirmed that unexpected, non-budgeted items and overages come out of the Unassigned Funds. Dick inquired about the items that are due to meet the county contingency requirements. Nancy stated that the RFP was in progress and the Performance Analysis was complete and delivered. Dick asked if there had been an action to increase hours. Nancy explained that increasing hours was not a requirement, that the county only asked the library to provide a study of hours.

Surplus Property

A Hewlett Packard printer beyond economical repair will be transferred to Gwinnett County for disposition once the Board declares these assets as surplus. Motion by Goodman to approve surplus fixed assets totaling $5,660, seconded by Wagoner, unanimous. Motion adopted.

Gwinnett County Public Library Endowment Fund - CFNEG

Jane reported on the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia Financial Statement ended June 30, 2012. The Library Fund is $231,430.

FY2013 Financial Items

Library Financial Statement - July 31, 2012

Jane discussed the July 31, 2012 Financial Statement of Revenue, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance – Actual and Budget.

State Revenue Budget Adjustment

Georgia Public Library Services (GPLS) recently notified Gwinnett County Public Library that the FY2013 State Budget is currently set at $1,070,530. This amount is $51,069 more than the budget estimate. In order to align the FY2013 Library budget with the State budget, a budget adjustment of $51,069 is necessary. Motion by Atkinson to increase the State Grant revenue budget and decrease the fund balance requirement by $51,069, seconded by Suzanne Skeen, unanimous. Motion adopted.

24/7 Self-Service Library Lending Machine

As Gwinnett County continues the SPLOST funded upgrade of the Five Forks Branch, both the Library and the County are making purchases for this project. The Library’s purchases will include Library specific technology equipment, which are included in the SPLOST funding and will be reimbursed by the County. As part of this project, the Library is slated to purchase a 24/7 Self-service Library Lending Machine. The Library issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) and received two qualified responses. The Library recommends awarding the purchase to the lowest proposal from Public Information Kiosk. The proposal was priced at $26,610. Motion by Goodman to approve purchase of self-service library lending machine from Public Information Kiosk, seconded by Atkinson, unanimous. Motion adopted.

Other Business

Suspected Child Abuse Reporting Policy

The Suspected Child Abuse Reporting policy and the language in it have been recommended for implementation at the library by the County Attorney’s Office. The board requests that staff receive proper training. A record of the training should be maintained including a form to be signed by each employee/volunteer after receiving training. Dick expressed concern that the policy may create a level of personal responsibility for the staff and volunteers if they do not report a suspicion. Nancy indicated this was among the concerns brought to the attention of the attorney. Motion by Skeen to approve the Suspected Child Abuse Reporting Policy as presented, seconded by Wagoner, Goodman abstained.

Motion by Atkinson to adjourn the meeting at 7:36 PM, seconded by Goodman, unanimous.

Minutes submitted by Shannon Sheffield.