HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-01-24 Board of Library Trustees MinutesBoard of Library Trustees
Minutes of Meeting - January 24, 2000
-P-? vr
Present: Maria Silvaggi, chair; Stephen Conner; Cherrie Dubois; Donna InDelicato
Also present: Cathy Martin, FinComm liaison, and Eugene Nigro.,
Ms. Silvaggi called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
Z i.i q ic~ r C a 1
FY01 budget: If the Board of Selectmen do not endorse an override vote, the Library is
looking at a four to five percent cut. There was a meeting last Friday at which department
heads presented their proposals for cuts to the Town Manager. Ms. Brennan gave an outline of
her suggestions, but is waiting for the Board's vote to present something formally.
The Library has been asked to detail potential cuts adding up to $35,505. Options presented
by Ms. Brennan:
remove the purchase of the 3M self-check machine from the capital budget ($28,300)
eliminate Saturday hours in the summer ($6,007)
reduce the supplies budget; fund with state aid and donations
eliminate Sunday hours ($13,016)
close a half hour earlier on Fridays and Saturdays ($4,806)
An idea from budget cutbacks in 1990 was to close for a week, but Ms. Brennan believes that
that would result in decertification by the Board of Library Commissioners. Mr. Nigro
remembers that unions won on this issue when it was proposed by Governor Weld.
Considerations for making cuts: least disruptive to public service, least harmful to the staff,
communicable.
Motion: to instruct the Director to submit to the Town Manager the proposal contained in
paragraphs three and four of her memo dated January 24, which reads:
"The capital plan contains one item for the Library in FY01, the 3M self-check machine. This
is budgeted at $28,300. I believe it is preferable to defer a capital purchase, rather than to
reduce hours.
That being said, in order to reach the $35,505 we need to cut an additional $7,205. I would
recommend cutting Saturday hours in the summer at $6,007. This leaves us with $1,198 to
cut, which I recommend we take from the supply budget. This will mean we will be
purchasing supplies from the state aid and donations accounts, as our current supply budget of
$10,000 is not adequate to cover expenses. However; it is the only large expense account
besides materials, and I definitely do not recommend reducing the materials line."
The motion was passed,
staff has increased by of
destructive to the staff. '
with reluctance. Ms. Silvaggi pointed out that the number of FTE
.3 since FY90. The cuts proposed are on the edge of bei
you only compact the same amount of use into a smaller number of hours.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
,--V
Diane J. Yo
Assistant Director