HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-02-28 Finance Committee Minutesae~~
6~Br INCORFO~P
~ ~V, DA
Finance Committee Meeting
February 28, 2008,, ,W; ~1
The meeting convened at 7:35 p.m. in the Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading,
Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Andrew Grimes, Vice Chairman Marsie West
and Finance Committee members Hal Torman, George Hines and David Greenfield.
Also present were Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director Bob LeLacheur, Fire Chief
Greg Burns, Library Director Ruth Urell, Library Trustees Vicky Yablowsky, Karyn
Storti, David Hutchinson, Richard Curtis and Suzy Axelson.
Andrew Grimes called the meeting to order at 7:35.
Library Director Ruth Urell distributed an overview of what has happened during-the past
year at the library and the results of the survey mailed to every resident in Reading. She
reported that attendance at children's programs was 16,992, the summer reading program
had 1,236 children and circulation was up to 380,293. Librarians taught 30 high school
students how to offer computer assistance to others - elder residents are most often
benefiting from this instruction. Librarians also are very involved in public education,
ranging from help in everyday homework to research projects (often online). The public
librarians are teachers too (they all have degrees) - they work closely with school
librarians on a variety of issues, and help parents and teachers with recommended. reading
lists.
Ruth Urell reviewed the survey that measured services, community interests, the future
direction of the library and the current high level (99%) of customer satisfaction. They
are amazed every month that they see increases in circulation. A question was asked
about a program request of $8,000. Ruth Urell explained that the library does not receive
money from the Town for programs and the Friends of Reading Library are struggling to
fund these each year. Some money also comes from individual donations. These
programs cost $20,000 to $30,000 annually. The Library Trustees think it is important to
start to get some funding in the Town budget for programs. This was a request but was
not funded in the final version of the budget. David Greenfield asked about the
condition of the computers. Bob LeLacheur reviewed that computers were historically
considered capital and were not always funded every year. Last year, Library staff
computers were reclassified as expenses of the Finance/Technology budget. All
municipal staff computers were placed on approximately three/four-year replacement
cycle. At the request of the Library Trustees, computers for the general public are still
funded directly in the Library budget. Last November Town Meeting approved $13,500 -
the equivalent of 1.5 years worth of public computer replacements - thus the annual
amount requested for FY09 has decreased to $8,500.
At this time David Hutchinson handed out a proposal to restore more hours to the
Library. He reported that as a result of the survey the community is calling for Sunday
hours. The library is requesting $66,000 to open Sunday afternoons, but also presented a
less expensive alternative. Andrew Grimes asked about the increase in office supplies and
wanted to know how much is for staff use and public. Ruth Urell mentioned that they do
collect some fees for printing and are thinking about setting up a revolving fund for what
they collect. George Hines asked about the drop in equipment and the increase in
Professional Development. Ruth Urell reiterated that the $8,500 will actually cover the
public computer replacements. Professional Development needs to be between $7,000
and $9,000, but they are asking for only $3,500. The Library has a staff of 41 and half
participate in training. Andrew Grimes spoke about the request for additional hours and
that they will have to come up with the money from somewhere else to fund. Hal
Torman asked what the ranking would be from the 3 priorities they are requesting. The
Library Trustees stated that their priorities are: l.Option A (longer Sunday hours); 2.
Option B and 3. $8,000 for programs.
George Hines asked about the strategic planning the Library Trustees are engaged in and
were it stands. It was reported that the survey was the beginning and it addressed some
short term plans and goals. The second part will be the long range the building structure
and addressing the need for technology. The Library Trustees discussed their plans
regarding the structure and reported that they hired an architect to check the structure and
are moving forward. George Hines suggested that a plan should be set up and money
should be put into the capital plan. He feels the library has gone a long time without
capital improvement money.
The next FINCOM budget meeting is scheduled for Wednesday March 5, 2008 at 7:00
PM.
On a motion by Andrew Grimes seconded by Marsie West, FINCOM voted 5-0-0 to
adiourn at 8:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Secretary