Fayetteville Library board considers lean budget for next year

FAYETTEVILLE -- A proposed budget of $4.06 million to maintain a current level of service, no salary increases and no new personnel was reviewed Monday by the Fayetteville Public Library Board of Trustees.

The budget is balanced by a $158,000 transfer from a reserve account held by the library foundation.

At A Glance

Food for Fines

The Fayetteville Public Library delivered a record 3,060 pounds of food Monday to Cooperative Emergency Outreach food pantry after library patrons paid off fines last week by donating the food. Patrons received a $1 credit for each food item they brought in toward paying off fines for overdue books. The program Food for Fines was started eight years ago to help the agency to stock its pantry during the holidays.

Source: Staff Report

Another $509,000 in proposed expenditures ended up on the cutting room floor before the budget came to the board, including three part-time employees assigned to three departments and a full-time maintenance employee. Other costs removed from the spending plan include $99,500 in maintenance materials used to make small repairs and the $140,000 cost for the second phase of a master plan on a proposed expansion.

A cut that drew a discussion from several board members was $8,500 from a volunteer outreach program. Lolly Greenwood, director of youth services and outreach, said this fund paid for materials for activities conducted outside the library walls, such as at the Farmers' Market or public schools or other venues.

The cut leaves $8,500 in that account and could limit the activities at which the library is represented.

Brenda Boudreaux, a board member, said the volunteer outreach seemed more important than a $16,000 expenditure the library spends to advertise in Citiscapes magazine, prompting agreement from other board members.

The board won't approve the budget until its December meeting, tentatively set for Dec. 15, however that date likely will be changed so all board members could be present. The new budget year begins Jan. 1.

The library receives more than 80 percent of its operating revenue from the city and a 1-mill assessment that was approved when the library was built 10 years ago, said Stephen Davis, the library's finance director. For 2015, the city will transfer nearly $1.7 million for operations and $406,000 for acquisition of books. The millage will generate just more than $1.3 million, Davis said.

Salaries and benefits, at $2.6 million, account for 64 percent of the expenditures in the new year. Another $530,850, or 13 percent, of the budget is for the acquisition of books, magazines, CDs and DVDs and online databases. The balance of the expenditures for programs and supplies, utilities, computers and software maintenance and miscellaneous expenses account for 23 percent of the budget, or $943,256.

"At this point, raises are off the table," Davis said.

However, Treasurer Maylon Rice asked if the $62,000 for across the board raises and cut from the proposed budget could be held in an escrow account to give out later. Rice said he thought the board had agreed the library employees would receive raises if the city gave its employees raises.

Davis said city raises, if given, likely wouldn't be approved before late winter or early spring.

A big question mark that remains over the budget is a five-year capital plan which includes $2.4 million in unfunded projects over the next five years. The projects include several major facility maintenance projects since the building is now 10 years old. Some of those projects are replacement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning compressors; computer replacements; and purchase of library materials.

The total list of projects adds up to $3.4 million over the five-year period.

NW News on 11/18/2014

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