SHAKER HEIGHTS PUBLIC LIBRARY

Board of Trustees

Regular Meeting

Monday, February 11, 2008

Attendance

Members Present: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Members Absent:

Staff Present: Mr. Dickinson, Mrs. Ferrazza, Mr. Piskac, Ms. Rosenberg, Mr. Rossman, Mrs. Schiller

Others:

Mr. McGovern called the regular meeting of the Shaker Heights Public Library Board of Trustees to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library Boardroom.

Approval of Minutes

2008-19 Ms. Allen moved and Mr. Miller seconded the motion to approve the January 14, 2008 organizational meeting minutes.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

2008-20 Mr. Miller moved and Dr. Hutt seconded the motion to approve the January 14, 2008 regular meeting minutes.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

President’s Report

A. New Trustee Search Update

Mr. McGovern said the Shaker Heights School Board received 11 applications to fill Mr. Schorgl’s unexpired term and he would be reviewing them with School Board members.

B. Replacement Levy Campaign Update

Mr. McGovern asked Mr. Dickinson for a levy update. Mr. Dickinson passed out levy support stickers and said the only other issue on the local ballot was the County Health and Human Services replacement levy. Mr. Dickinson showed levy and marketing materials the library would be using. Mr. Dickinson said that This Week in Shaker (TWIS) was advertising the levy for three weeks prior to the March vote in their email newsletter. He said that reporters from the Plain Dealer and Sun News contacted the library and asked questions about the levy. Ms. Allen commented that a majority of residents that she spoke with support the library and suggested to continue emphasizing the services the library provides to the community. Mr. Dickinson also said the library is sending out a levy postcard to every household in the district about a week before March 4.

Staff Presentation – Mrs. Pam Ferrazza and Ms. Laurie Rosenberg, Circulation Services

Mr. Dickinson introduced Mrs. Ferrazza and Ms. Rosenberg from Circulation Services who provided a comprehensive overview of circulation services. Some topics that were discussed included processing of patron material requests and reserves, interlibrary loan requests, door counts, accepting library material returns and discharges, issuing new and replacement library cards, coordinating library materials for the Homebound program, sales for Friends of Shaker Library, meeting room forms, accepting payments for patron fines and fees, answering the telephone.

Treasurer’s Report

A. Financial Statements

Mr. Piskac distributed and reviewed the January 2008 revenue and expenditure financial statements and reported the following:

Revenue Summary

Mr. Piskac said the library received $731,098.10 in revenue for January 2008, which is $29,992.54 more than 2007. He explained that the 2008 Real Estate Property Tax Advance revenue was $15,000 higher than 2007 tax advance. He added the 2008 collection rate estimate was decreased from 98.74% in 2007 to 93.12% for 2008. He also reported the January 2008 State Income Tax (LLGSF) was $9,168.37 higher than last year. Lastly, he said that the library received approximately $6,200 for COBRA premiums, which accounts for the increase in the line item Refunds and Reimbursements over last year.

Expenditure Summary

Mr. Piskac reported January 2008 expenditures were $380,303.59 ($443,089.55 – 2007), which is $62,785.96 less than 2007. Mr. Piskac said the November 2007 order cut off date by Ms. Lamont in Technical Services reduced that amount of carryover encumbrances and paid payables in January, which reduced the library material expenditures significantly during January. He said the Insurance Benefits line item is less than January 2007 because the library received a credit on the January 2008 invoice from 2007 paid premiums for past employees. Mr. Piskac also mentioned the Furniture & Equipment Capital Outlay reflects the payment for new computers from 2007.

Bank Reports

Mr. Piskac reported the month-to-date and year-to-date reports would be the same because it is the first reporting month of the fiscal year. He said the library received deposits totaling $731,098.10 and expended $380,303.59, which increased the library’s cash position by $350,794.51 to $1,155,180.95.

Combined Month-to-Date/Year-to-Date Fund Report

Mr. Piskac reported the General Fund had an unexpended balance of $985,071.94, $1,401,839.95 in encumbrances, and an unencumbered balance of $(416,768.01). He said the high encumbrance balance is due to the library’s annual blanket purchase orders. Mr. Piskac also reported the unexpended balance for all funds was $1,155,180.95, $1,409,384.95 in encumbrances, and $(254,204.00) in unencumbered funds.

Investment Report

Mr. Piskac reported the January 2008 investment balance was $391,516.18 and the Star interest rate decreased to 4.25% from 4.53% in December.

Mr. Piskac recommended the Board of Trustees approve the January 31, 2008 financial statements as submitted.

2008-21 Mr. Schorgl moved and Dr. Whyte seconded the motion to accept the January 31, 2008 financial statements.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

B. E-Rate Update

Mr. Piskac reported the library has applied for E-Rate funding for FY09 (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009) and estimated the library would receive approximately $10,000 for FY08 reimbursements. He said the library receives reimbursements for telecommunication services and OPLIN receives E-Rate reimbursements to provide Internet access for area libraries.

C. 2008 Final Appropriation

Mr. Piskac reviewed the 2008 Revenue Budget, Appropriation Budget, and Capital Budget. He said the Revenue Budget shows the library expects to receive $5,055,407.17, which is $179,757.63 less than 2007 because of the reduced collection rate and property valuations. He also said the library’s revenue sources in terms of percentage are Real Estate 56%, LLGSF 37%, Other 7% and the total amount of resources for the General Fund is $5,689,884.60 and all funds is $5,956,605.61. Then, Mr. Piskac reviewed the Appropriation Budget and said the Health Insurance line item is tentatively $60,000 short of the anticipated 25% increase for 2008. He said the health insurance renewal initially came in at a 47% increase over last year and is currently being negotiated and bid out by our third party administrator. Mr. Piskac commented that the materials budget of $842,601 is less than the $947,349.95 spent in 2007. He also mentioned the total General Fund appropriation is $5,689,884.60 ($5,597,284.60 without inter-fund transfer), which is slightly higher than the actual $5,596,415.29 ($5,386,415.29 without inter-fund transfer) 2007 expenditures. In addition, he said the total appropriation for all funds was $5,954,654.31. Next, Mr. Piskac reviewed the Capital Budget and stated that the total Capital Budget was $80,355, which consisted primarily of technology related expenditures.

Mr. Piskac recommended the Board of Trustees approve the 2008 Revenue Budget, Appropriations and Capital Budget as submitted.

2008-22 Ms. Shatten moved and Dr. Hutt seconded the motion to approve the 2008 Revenue Budget, Appropriations and Capital Budget as submitted.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

D. Approval of 2008 Insurance Policy Changes

Mr. Piskac reported that he met with Mr. Ben Sutton of Sutton Insurance last week and received the library’s property and liability insurance renewal with Westfield Insurance for property coverage and AIG for liability coverage. He said the library also received an insurance proposal from the Ohio Plan for both property and liability coverage. He noted the following policy changes if the library renews with Westfield and AIG or changes over to the Ohio Plan.

Policy Changes: Westfield Ohio Plan

Theft of materials - Deductible $500.00 $1,000.00

Earthquake - Deductible 50,000.00 25,000.00

Auto Property - Deductible 500.00 0.00

Mr. Piskac said the Westfield/AIG renewal would be approximately $26,049 and the Ohio Plan would be $22,623, which is $6,522 less than the $29,145 the library spent in 2007 for insurance. He said the liability coverage for the Ohio Plan would start on June 1, 2008 and run through February 28, 2009 and mirror the property coverage period and renew on the same date in 2009.

Mr. Piskac recommended the Board of Trustees approve the insurance policy changes and authorize the Clerk-Treasurer to enroll the library in the Ohio Plan for property and liability insurance coverage for $22,623.

2008-23 Mr. Schorgl moved and Ms. Shatten seconded the motion to approve the insurance policy changes and authorize the Clerk-Treasurer to enroll the library in the Ohio Plan for property and liability insurance coverage for $22,623.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

Director’s Report

A. Written Report

Mr. Dickinson provided a summary of meetings he attended. He also announced that the husband of former Board member Dr. Benning recently passed away. We are going to add a book on landscaping to the Main library collection in memory of her husband.

B. Library Funding Update

Mr. Dickinson reported the January LLGSF Director’s meeting was canceled and rescheduled for February 15. He said the February meeting was also canceled and wouldn’t be rescheduled until after the March primary elections. Mr. Dickinson said some participating libraries have levies on the ballot and wanted to defer LLGSF discussions until their levy outcomes were known.

C. Security Camera System Upgrade

Mr. Dickinson reviewed the security camera system upgrade proposal and noted the library would be increasing the number of cameras from 16 to 32. He said the new cameras have increased functional capacities and sharper pictures. He said the library is obtaining quotes for the project and preliminary estimates are approximately $60,000 and the bond fund would be used to pay for the camera upgrade.

Mr. Dickinson recommended the Board of Trustees approve the not to exceed $60,000 security camera upgrade proposal, which would be paid from bond funds.

2008-24 Mr. Schorgl moved and Dr. Whyte seconded the motion to approve a not to exceed $60,000 funding for a library security camera system upgrade paid for by the library bond fund.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

D. Medicare Eligibility Coverage Option

Mr. Dickinson proposed that the library offer Medicare insurance to eligible employees and the library would pay the premium. He said by offering Medicare insurance the library’s current health insurance underwriting would be reduced for age and claims experience of Medicare eligible employees. He said the library would benefit by anticipated lower group health insurance rates and lower Medicare premiums in comparison to current health insurance premiums.

Mr. Dickinson recommended the Board of Trustees approve the Medicare insurance option for eligible employees and the premium be paid by the library.

2008-25 Mrs. Shatten moved and Ms. Allen seconded the motion to approve Medicare insurance as an option to eligible library employees and for the Medicare insurance premium to be paid by the library.

Mr. Schorgl asked if the library could legally require eligible employees to participate in Medicare or if participation was optional. Since Board discussion was not conclusive, he recommended deferring Board action until participation requirements were clarified. Mrs. Shatten and Ms. Allen withdrew their motions and the item was tabled.

E. Staffing Study & Organizational Assessment Update

Mr. Dickinson said Ms. Jeanne Goodrich would be returning to the library March 3 and 4 to continue the staffing study and organizational assessment.

New Business

A. Gifts to be accepted and appropriated to the designated funds

Restricted Contribution Individual (101-6110)

Margaret and William Simon $100.00

To purchase the awards for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Writing Contest

Marilyn Kammer Memorial Fund (209-6510)

Randy Kammer

In memory of Jessica Jessiman $25.00

In memory of Leonard Krasner $25.00

In memory of Barry McRaith and Joan Ward $50.00

Liz and Tom Schorgl donated a copy of The Transformation of Ireland by Diarmaid Ferriter in

memory of Christine George

2008-26 Dr. Whyte moved and Mr. Miller seconded the motion to accept and appropriate the above gifts.

Roll Call: Ayes: Ms. Allen, Dr. Hutt, Mr. Miller, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Schorgl, Ms. Shatten, Dr. Whyte

Nays: None. Motion carried.

B. Personnel Actions (information only)

Gloria Appling, Administrative Clerk, half-time, retired effective January 31, 2008

Announcements

None

Community Comments

None

Adjournment

Mr. McGovern said that there being no further business, board members unanimously agreed to adjourn the regular board meeting at 8:01 p.m. The next regular meeting of the Shaker Heights Public Library Board of Trustees will be Monday, March 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the Bertram Woods Community Room.

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Ken McGovern, President

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David D. Piskac, Clerk-Treasurer

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Jeanne Shatten, Secretary