River Forest Public Library Board of Library Trustees Minutes of Regular Meeting February 8, 2005 Call to Order President Molly Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. Ms. Ryan welcomed our newest library patron, Paul Frances Fischer, born January 30th, 2005. Paul is the son of Trustee Elizabeth Fischer. The entire Board joined Ms. Ryan in extending congratulations to Mrs. Fischer Present at the meeting were Library Director Mrs. Bussey and Trustees Ryan, Coe, Fischer, Horstman, Sher, Soffer and Daly. Audience to Visitors/Trustee Comments One visitor, Mr. Al Popowits, signed in. There were no visitor or trustee comments. Consent Agenda The February Consent Agenda consisted of three sets of minutes, the Warrant List of Bills Payable and the January Treasurer’s Report. The Board reviewed the minutes of the regular board meeting of January 12, 2005, the minutes of the Budget and Finance Committee meeting of January 24, 2005 and the minutes of the Personnel Committee meeting of January 26, 2005. Board members reviewed the Warrant List of Bills Payable for January 13 to February 8, 2005 covering checks # 4914 to #4966, and the payroll and benefits list. The grand total of all expenditures was $91,365.71. Mr. Soffer presented a new format for the Treasurer’s Report which included the fund balances as well as the month ends and year-to-date profit and loss statements from April ’04 through January ’05. The Board reviewed the January 2005 Treasurer’s Report. There was one correction to the Treasurer’s notes to the January 2005 financial statements: The note regarding professional services should read: “Professional services reflect the final payment to the search consultant” in lieu of “to the interim director”. Mr. Coe moved that the Board approve the Consent Agenda. Mrs. Fischer seconded. A roll call vote was taken. The vote was as follows: Ms. Ryan, Mr. Coe, Mr. Sher, Mr. Soffer, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Horstman and Mrs. Daly voted aye. There were no nays and no abstentions. The motion carried unanimously. Communications A. Donations- Mrs. Bussey stated that the library received one donation in the past month in memory of Senator Richard Walsh from Senator Geocaris in the amount of $25. The consensus of the Board was to accept the donation. B. Regular meeting date change and scheduling of special meetings- The regular meeting for March has been changed to Tuesday, March 8. The public will be notified. Special Budget Committee meetings for the entire Board were scheduled for Monday, February 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 26 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. C. January Patron Suggestions- Mrs. Bussey shared the January, 2005 suggestions and replies with the Board. These suggestions are posted in the library and will be posted on the library’s website. Director’s Reports A. Statistical Report – Mrs. Bussey presented the January statistical report, highlighting that data base page use has increased, and that there were 16,533 hits on the home page of the library’s website. B. Written Report- Mrs. Bussey presented the January Director’s Report to the Board. C. Departmental Reports and Presentation by Rebecca Vnuk- The Board reviewed written reports from the Children’s Room, the Teen Department, Adult Services, the Circulation Department and Technical Services. Mrs. Bussey introduced Rebecca Vnuk, the new head of Adult Services. In addition to her written report, Ms.Vnuk gave a presentation. She showed examples of what types of books should be weeded from the collection and why. She shared her main goals for the Adult Services Department: to improve the collection, to get a better sense of what the public wants and be able to provide it for them, and to better market the collection. Old Business A. Budget and Finance Committee Report- The Budget and Finance Committee drafted a payment authorization policy. Mr. Soffer suggested that an amendment needed to be made to the draft before it could be brought to a vote. Mr.Soffer moved that an additional exception to the $2500 payment limit would be monthly payments to the health insurance vendor in accordance with documents provided by the payroll service. Mrs. Fischer seconded. Roll call vote was taken. Voting aye were Ms. Ryan, Mr. Coe, Ms. Horstman, Mr. Soffer, Mr. Sher, Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. Daly. There were no nays. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Soffer moved that the Board authorize the Director to make payments on invoices as they are received and to inform the Board after the payments have been made. Further, the Director will be authorized to make monthly payments to the health insurance vendor in accordance with documents provided by the payroll service. Exceptions to authorization include payments to the Director, those reporting directly to the Director (department heads, the administrative assistant and the security monitor), and Board members. Single or multiple payments exceeding $2500 to any one vendor in one month are also prohibited. Ms Horstman seconded. Roll call vote was taken. Ms. Horstman, Mr. Sher, Ms. Ryan, Mr. Coe, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Soffer and Mrs. Daly vote aye. There were no nays. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Soffer gave a report on new procedures and methods of financial reporting. B. Personnel Committee Report- The Personnel Committee of the Board met on January 26, 2005 to review the Personnel Policy Manual. The committee recommended several policy changes. 1. Holiday and Vacation Pay: Mrs. Fischer moved that the Board accept the committee’s recommendation to change the eligibility of employees for holiday and vacation pay from 16 hours or more per week to 17.5 hours or more per week. Mr. Soffer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 2. Secondary Holiday Comp Time: Ms. Horstman moved that the Board accept the committee’s recommendation that the policy of secondary holiday comp time (found on page 9 in the manual) be struck from the Policy Manual. Going forward, full time employees will be expected to work on secondary holidays when the Library is open. Mr. Coe seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 3. Formula for computing paid vacation time: Mrs. Daly moved that the Board accept the committee’s recommendation to change the formula for computing paid vacation periods in a way that lengthens the service required before an additional week of vacation pay is granted. The exact formula will be in the Policy Manual. Mr. Soffer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 4. Glossary- Mr. Coe moved that the Board accept the recommendation of the Committee that the definition in the glossary of the Policy Manual of “Part time” will be “any number of hours worked less than full time.” Mrs. Fischer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 5. Health Insurance Benefits- Mrs. Bussey will review the policy in regard to health insurance benefits and will write a draft for a recommendation to be brought to the March Board meeting. 6. Hours of work, punctuality and rest periods- Ms. Horstman moved that the Board accept the committee’s recommendation to define the “meal period” in the manual as a 30 minute break for every five hours worked and an additional 15 minute break for a 7.5 hour shift. Subject to the approval of a supervisor, the 45 minute meal period could be taken all at once, or split into a meal period and a break. Mr. Soffer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 7. Merit Increment Policy- Mr. Coe moved that the Board accept the committee’s recommendation that at the discretion of the director, merit increments may be available to all library staff working a minimum of 8 hours per week. Mrs. Fischer seconded. The motion carried unanimously. 8. Request for Salary Scale Assessments- Mrs. Fischer told the Board that the Personnel Committee asked Mrs. Bussey to work toward clarifications of job descriptions for each Library employee as a step toward defining compensation scale. The committee agreed to develop a salary scale during 2005 that reflects market conditions for Library employees as well as specific qualifications and expectations of Mrs. Bussey and the Library’s Strategic Plan. 9. New Position Request-The Personnel Committee conveyed Mrs. Bussey’s belief that the current staff cannot support further growth toward the Strategic Plan’s objectives without additional staff. The Board will discuss and review this request. C. Building and Grounds Committee Report – This report was tabled. D. War Memorial Update- Mrs. Bussey reported that the River Forest Service Club agreed to sign off on ownership of the World War II Memorial Plaque and donate it to the Library. Insurance for the plaque will be covered by the Village of River Forest. Ms. Ryan requested clarification of what is covered under the current liability policy. Mrs. Bussey will follow up with Mr. Hagensick from the Service Club. E. Strategic Plan Update- This discussion was tabled. F. Further By-laws Review- This discussion was tabled, but By-laws Review will continue to be placed on the agenda under Old Business. New Business A. Preliminary 2005-2006 Budget Review- Mrs. Bussey presented a preliminary budget to the Board. After discussion, Board members agreed that this preliminary budget will provide them with a place to begin their 2005-2006 budget deliberations. Executive Session At 10:00 p.m. Mr. Coe moved that the Board go into Executive Session. Adjournment At 10:03 p.m. Mr. Coe moved to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board. Mrs. Daly seconded. Respectfully submitted, Diane Daly, Secretary