CITY OF ALBANY/ALAMEDA COUNTY LIBRARY. Albany Library Board Meeting Minutes - DRAFT May 28, 2008 Albany Library

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1 CITY OF ALBANY/ALAMEDA COUNTY LIBRARY Albany Library Board Meeting Minutes - DRAFT May 28, 2008 Albany Library Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm by Board Chair Joan Larson. Roll Call: Board Members present: Joan Larson Peter Goodman Leah Flanagan Linda Yamamoto Frank Carothers Janet Fohner Members excused: Jewel Okawachi Alameda County Library Staff Present: Ronnie Davis, Albany Library Manager Peggy Watson, Head of Branches City of Albany Staff Present: Charles Adams, City of Albany Finance Director Approval of Minutes The minutes for the May 14 meeting were approved (Goodman/Flanagan) with the following correction: Under City of Albany Contract - 4 th paragraph, 2 nd sentence: Ms. Flanagan said that the objective of Albany paying a fair share of County costs appears to be going in the wrong direction. Ms. Davis will send the approved minutes for posting on the City s website. Open Forum There were no public comments.

2 City of Albany Contract with the Alameda County Library Ms. Watson presented additional information about the Alameda County Library contract. Ms. Watson said that the formula for determining each library s share of the system-wide costs was calculated by subtracting administrative personnel costs from the Library s Salary and Employee Benefits budget (S&EB) and then dividing each library s personnel costs into the remaining S&EB budget. Albany s share of the system-wide costs is 8.4%, which calculates to $711,554 (of a total system-wide budget of approximately $8.5 million, out of a County Library budget of approximately $27.6 million). Ms. Watson said Albany had the second lowest percentage of system-wide costs. She also said Ms. Hofacket was open to a discussion of changing the formula since the same formula had been used for several years. Board members were still concerned about the increase in Albany s share of system-wide costs, up 23.76% in the 07/08 contract and up another 14.46% in the 08/09 contract. Mr. Carothers noted that this was a 48% increase since 05/06. One of the main questions was will this continue to increase substantially in future years. Ms. Larson said that she was concerned that Ms. Hofacket had stated the goal was to have general County Library funds not exceed more than $500,000 of Albany Library costs. Mr. Carothers again stated that the public data he obtained did not show similar increases in other city contracts over the past several years. Ms. Larson asked for clarification of the salary increases and Ms. Watson said that these were a result of negotiations between the County and SEIU. City of Albany Staff Presentation Mr. Adams presented information about the County Library budget using a PowerPoint presentation. He compared the system-wide costs of each library and commented that the range of accessed costs were close. He noted that Albany represents 3.2% of the total population the County Library serves and brings in 2.8% of the property tax. The Albany Library circulates 9.1% of the system total. Albany s special taxes will contribute an additional $654,714 to the 08/09 revenues. Mr. Adams also showed the increase in expenses. He commented that the contract with the County Library is projected to increase 3.1% in 08/09 but the total operating budget will increase 9.33%. Mr. Adams stated that he thought the contract with the County Library was acceptable for the next fiscal year but he also reiterated his concern that additional increases in the County Library contract could result in the loss of any contingency funds and the inability of the funds generated by the City tax measures to continue to fund current library services.

3 Board members again responded they were concerned about the loss of the contingency funds. Ms. Flanagan said it seemed unfair that system-wide costs were reassessed after Albany residents voted on a tax. Mr. Carothers said that he understood more than he did two hours ago, but that he still didn t have sufficient information to vote on the contract. Ms. Larson asked what would happen if the Board did not pass a contract at tonight s meeting. Ms. Watson said the County Library would need to look at reductions in staff and library hours. It was moved (Yamamoto, Fohner) to recommend the Albany City Council approve a contract with the Alameda County Library for $654,714 to fund library services for the 2008/2009. The discussion emphasized the Board concern that the increases in the library contracts, mainly due to the reassessment of system-wide costs, had been higher than had been planned for when the Board recommended the recent library tax (Measure G) to the Council and the community. The motion passed by four votes (Yamamoto, Fohner, Larson, Flanagan) with Mr. Carothers abstaining. Mr. Goodman was not in attendance. Board Letter to City Council Ms. Larson presented a draft of a letter from the Board to the City Council. This letter will be presented at the June 16 City Council meeting along with the recommended County Library contract and a City Staff Report. Board members worked on the content of the letter, incorporating some of the language from a February 27 Board subcommittee letter to Ms. Hofacket. The Board made several suggestions and authorized Ms. Larson to finalize the letter. Announcements Ms. Davis distributed the Board Calendar and Work Plan. Ms. Davis announced that Julie Winkelstein would be resigning as of the end of July to attend a PHD program at the University of Tennessee beginning in August. A community celebration will be planned. Ms. Larson noted several upcoming events: City Appreciation Dinner on May 30, Friends of the Albany Library fundraiser at Barnes and Noble on May 31 and the Taste of Albany on June 1. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:35.

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