MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
ELISHA D. SMITH PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Elisha D. Smith Public Library Gegan Room
December 19, 2013
Call to order at 4:01 p.m. by President Murray
Present: Eisen, Golz, Kiley, Murray, Nichols, VanderHeyden, Wicihowski, Aaron Harvey (teen rep)
Absent: Crawmer
Also present: Director Lenz, K. Seefeldt (Office Manager), K. Beson (Head of Children’s Services)
Authorization of Bills
A motion to authorize payment of the December list of bills from the 2013 budget as presented was made by Golz and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion carried unanimously.
VanderHeyden arrived at 4:08 p.m.
Consent Business
The following Consent Business items were presented for the Board’s consideration:
Approve Library Board meeting minutes from November 21, 2013
Accept Policies & Personnel Committee meeting minutes from November 20, 2013
Motion to approve the Library Board meeting minutes of November 21, 2013 and accept the minutes of the Policies & Personnel Committee meeting of November 20, 2013 was made by Nichols and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion carried unanimously.
Director’s Report/Information Items
1. November Statistics. Lending of adult materials in November was nearly the same as last year. Lending of children’s materials was down slightly at 1.7%. When including digital downloads, overall circulation was up .8%.
2. Current Budget Status. Director Lenz reported that 91.5% of the year had passed and 87.9% of the 2013 budget had been spent. Some line item expenditures for 2013 will not be posted until year end. Nichols questioned the $871.39 expenditure in account 3019 (Office Furnishings) that had not been budgeted for in 2013.
3. Staff Report. Director Lenz reported that staff will soon begin to use a Square Reader at the Reference Desk to accept credit and debit card payments for faxes, photocopies, and Friends merchandise routinely sold at their desk. Patrons will not be able to use this service to pay for lost materials or for fines that are due. Patrons purchasing Friends merchandise normally sold at the Circulation Desk who want to use a credit or debit card will be directed to the Reference Desk. Fees are a 2.75% per swiped transaction or 3.5% plus $.15 for manually entered transactions. Director Lenz has arranged for all of these payments to be deposited in the endowment’s checking account at First National Bank. Monthly lists of bills may include small reimbursement payments to the library’s city accounts for photocopies or faxes paid for in this manner.
4. Food For Fines. $2,024.26 in fines was forgiven during our November Food for Fines campaign. The food that was collected was donated to the Double Portions Soup Kitchen and St. Joe’s Food Pantry.
Discussion/Action Items
6. Cost of Living Adjustment. A 1% cost of living adjustment was included in the library’s 2014 budget. This same amount was approved by the Common Council for all non-represented city personnel.
Motion
A motion to approve a 1% cost of living adjustment effective January 5, 2014 for library personnel was made by Nichols and seconded by Golz. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion
A motion to move into closed session pursuant to WI Statute 19.85(1)(c) to discuss the performance and compensation of staff slated to receive a step or merit increase and to discuss the director’s annual review and salary increase was made by VanderHeyden and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion passed on a roll call vote with all members voting aye.
Children’s Department Head Kathy Beson requested permission to give a report on Children’s service patterns from 2005-2012.
Motion
A motion to return to open session was made by VanderHeyden and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion passed unanimously.
A summary of children’s programming statistics was reviewed. It was reported that the number of children’s programs offered since 2005 had increased by 63% and that attendance at these programs had increased by 90%. These statistics did not include tours or outreach programs conducted by staff in the Children’s Department during this time period. Information provided documented a natural fluctuation in programs and attendance from year to year. Beson stated that it was important to note that the Children’s Department continues to routinely check out more books than AV materials. Circulation numbers in this report verified that 25% of her department’s total circulation came from AV and DVDs while 45% of the Adult Department’s circulation came from those same sources. Board members thanked her for her report.
Motion
Motion to move back into closed session pursuant to WI Statute 19.85(1)(c) to discuss the performance and compensation of staff slated to receive a step or merit increase and the director’s review and salary increase was made by Nichols and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion passed on a roll call vote with all members voting aye.
K. Seefeldt and Aaron Harvey left the meeting at 4:27 p.m.
7. Step Increases for Eligible Staff Members Effective January 5, 2014.
Kelly Bunnell Library Aide step 4 to step 5
Shannon Ely Library Clerk step 7 to step 8
Jody Gerdin Library Aide step 5 to step 6
Anne Keller Library Clerk base to step 2
Sarah Konrad Library Aide step 5 to step 6
Kristin Seefeldt Office Manager step 8 to step 9
Anita Stadtmueller Library Aide base to step 2
Vanessa Taylir Librarian step 5 to step 6
Elizabeth Tubman Assistant Librarian step 2 to step 3
8. Merit Increases for Eligible Staff Members Effective January 5, 2014.
Kathryn Beson Library Supervisor step 11 to step 12
Catherine Brandt Library Supervisor step 10 to step 11
Julie Wing Library Clerk step 12 to step 13
9. Director’s Annual Review. Policies & Personnel Committee members shared information which was collected from Library Board members and library floor supervisors pertaining to the director’s annual review. They also reviewed the director’s goals for 2014.
Director Lenz left the meeting. Discussion ensued.
Motion
A motion to adjourn closed session and reconvene in open session at 4:57 p.m. was made by VanderHeyden and seconded by Eisen. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
Director Lenz, K. Seefeldt and Aaron Harvey joined the meeting.
Motion
A motion to approve a 2.5% salary step increase for employees as presented was made by Eisen and seconded by Golz. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion
A motion to approve a 2.5% merit increase for employees as presented was made by VanderHeyden and seconded by Wicihowski. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion
A motion to approve a 1% cost of living adjustment effective January 5, 2014 for Director Lenz was made by Wicihowski and seconded by Eisen. Motion carried unanimously.
Announcements
Teen representative Aaron Harvey acknowledged that he planned to review Trustee Essential chapter 15 The Library Board and the Public Records Law at the board’s January meeting.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:20 p.m. by Nichols and seconded by Eisen. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Kris Seefeldt, Recording Secretary
