Roll Call – The meeting was called to order at 4:30 p.m. Those members present were Rachel Abercrombie, Alice Snodgrass, Sheila Owens, Ann Crowder-Sanders, and Carrie Cline. Erlene Gideon did not attend.
Reading of Minutes – After reading and discussing the November minutes, Ann made a motion to accept them as written, Sheila seconded, and it passed unanimously.
Director’s Report
- Carrie presented the statistics for November.
- During the month of December, the library raised $419 for Crosslines.
- Concerning the upcoming Healthcare Mandate for 2014, Carrie included some helpful handouts from the Kaiser Foundation.
- There was a problem with one of our online 941 payments from earlier in the year, as the payment did not go through and we didn’t know. The library was charged a $75 fee for this, and as soon as the problem was discovered, the payment was resubmitted.
- Carrie met with the library computer staff on Friday to discuss upcoming projects for 2013. We also think problems have settled down in Noel and Southwest City, since we now turn the wireless off at closing.
- The Southwest City Library Foundation donated $3,000 for books and materials to the Southwest City Library for 2013.
- There are 2 upcoming grants that will be very helpful to us. There is a nonfiction grant with no local match required, and an ebook grant with no local match required.
Financial Reports – After reviewing the reports from November, Sheila made a motion to approve them, Rachel seconded, and they passed unanimously.
Public comments on agenda items – none
Old Business – none
New Business
A. 2013 Proposed Budget – Carrie presented a proposed 2013 budget, complete with cuts in several line items to adjust to our lowered receipt of property taxes. Sheila made a motion to approve the proposed budget, Ann seconded, and it was approved unanimously.
Concerning the 2012 budget, less property tax money came in than expected, and the library spent more than they could afford. Carrie proposed several options to cut some hours across the board, thus saving money in pay roll and utilities. Ann made a motion to change Friday hours at all three buildings to be open from 1-6 p.m., beginning in January. This cost-saving closure will be re-visited at the May Board Meeting. Rachel seconded, and the vote was as follows:
Ann – yes
Alice – yes
Sheila – abstained
Rachel – yes
The yes votes carried the majority, and the motion was approved.
General public comments – none
Adjourn – Sheila made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Ann seconded, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Friday night, January 11th at 4:30 p.m.
