PUEBLO CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORK SESSION MINUTES. April 17, 2018

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1 PUEBLO CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORK SESSION MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL April 17, 2018 Ms. Martinez, President, called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. in the Ryals Room on the 4 th floor of the Rawlings Library. Board Members Present: Board Member Absent: Attorney Present: Staff Present: Doreen Martinez, President; Fredrick Quintana, Vice President; Marlene Bregar; Lyndell Gairaud; Philip Mancha; Jim Stuart Stephanie Garcia Nicholas Gradisar Jon Walker, Executive Director; Sherri Baca, Chief Financial Officer; Sara Rose, Chief Operating Officer; others not recorded II. CORRECTIONS OR MODIFICATIONS TO THE AGENDA Ms. Martinez displayed a framed proclamation signed by Governor Hickenlooper designating March 16, 2018 as Pueblo City-County Library District Day in recognition of Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) Leslie B. Knope Award for Best Public Library in America. III. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Financial Report Ms. Martinez said Sherri Baca, Chief Financial Officer, would provide an overview of PCCLD financial activities and status through March 31, Mr. Walker said Ms. Baca would not be available at the regular Board meeting and would present the report normally provided at that meeting to allow Board members to address any questions prior to voting to approve the Financial Report next week. Ms. Baca said the library began receiving property taxes which allowed them to begin replenishing the library s reserves. Ms. Baca said balances have been adjusted for the end of There was a timing issue showing liabilities under capital expenses for HVAC which is in transit. In the General Fund, the target percentage for the end of March is 25%. Revenues were 25% collected. Personnel expenditures were 21% spent remaining consistent with 22% last year. Ms. Baca pointed out Employee Insurance represents a couple of months of Cigna health care premiums. Materials were 28% spent compared with 24% last year. Facilities was 13% spent which is considerably under but tracking the same as last year. Ms. Baca pointed out that line items shown as 100% spent are one-time prepaid expenses. Operating was 27% spent, and Professional Memberships are usually paid early in the year. Information Technology was 39% spent compared with 32% last year. Overall, expenditures were 22% spent. Mr. Stuart asked if Postage & Freight was paid ahead. Ms. Baca explained the library writes a check to put money on the postage meter and the bulk mail account, which is spent down as mail is sent. The Capital Fund had no expenditures. The revenue shown for Contracts/Grants includes a $25,000 grant from the Rawlings Foundation for a memorial project as well as an E-rate reimbursement. Typically, the HVAC system would be shown here if it were not in transit, so there was some spending which will appear in next month s report. The Special Revenue Fund only had a dollar in interest for revenue in March. There was a great first quarter payment from the Chamberlain Fund of about $7,000 received in April, which was significant.

2 April 17, of 6 The J.T. Nesbitt Fund is a fiduciary fund used to benefit the staff association, and they have transitioned to Bank of the San Juans. Ms. Baca pointed out $26,600 paid to Floworx Mechanical for the HVAC equipment. Hinkle & Company is a new vendor which acquired Swanhorst & Company for auditing services. Ms. Baca also commented on the library s transition to an online system for P-Card charges which are now being done electronically which has saved a lot of time in Finance. Ms. Baca offered to respond to any questions in the Check Summary, noting most were standard and recurring. Mr. Stuart asked if the work was being transferred among all the P-Card holders, and Ms. Baca explained the efficiency is really from becoming paperless and coding expenses taking a fraction of the time. Ms. Baca concluded with amounts presented for the Board s approval to include ACH payments of $116,373.99, Payables of $447,581.02, and Payroll of $237,448.33, for a total of $801, Ms. Baca added that the change to Bank of the San Juans had allowed for more online bill paying options and is being used to reimburse employees and issue refunds to customers. The Board will be asked to approve the Financial Report at the April 26 Board Meeting. B. Recognition Ms. Martinez said a special Board of Trustee PCCLD employee recognition had been recommended and would be presented for discussion. Mr. Walker said this came up recently, and he and Ms. Gairaud had prepared a draft resolution for the Board to consider. Mr. Walker distributed the draft Resolution along with the procedure for the Library Trustee Award for Exemplary Performance and suggested the Board review this and make any recommendations. Ms. Martinez said each of the employees should be recognized by name, and Mr. Walker suggested each employee be given a certificate along with the Resolution. Mr. Stuart agreed that it is nice to be a team, but it each of them should be named specifically. There was a discussion about the amount of paid time off awarded for each of the named employees, and whether this had been done in the past. Mr. Walker said this is the first time the Board has used the procedure. The Board developed the procedure after expressing a desire to award something more for exemplary performance. Mr. Quintana asked if the cost of the award had been considered, and Mr. Walker responded that the reason the Board had decided on an amount of paid time off was because it would not impact the budget. Mr. Walker estimated the cost at about $5,000 including benefits. There was discussion whether three days would become a precedent, but after additional discussion, the Board agreed that each award should be made on a case-by-case basis The Board suggested the Resolution be added to the Agenda as an action item for the next meeting. Laura Savage, who is not an employee, will be given a floral arrangement. C. PCCLD 2018 Annual Plan: First Quarter (Q1) Update Ms. Martinez said a first quarter update report on the 2018 Annual Plan would be provided. Mr. Walker distributed the 2018 Annual Plan update which is also in the Board packets. The Board adopted the Annual Plan late in Each of the objectives are intended to be new initiatives which impact library finances. The name listed in red shows the administrator overseeing each objective, and the portion shown in green provides an update on the status. I Complete a process to select the best, lowest-cost providers for PCCLD wide-area network communications and Internet services for all library locations to insure high quality digital services. Charles Hutchins is assigned to oversee this, and there were some significant changes to the way the library applies for E-rate reimbursement representing hundreds of thousands of dollars which also affects a separate objective.

3 April 17, of 6 III Conduct an RFP process for PCCLD courier services so that collection materials and supplies are well delivered among all library locations in a cost effective manner. Mr. Walker said this is an example where there has been a lot of progress. VII Convene a study of PCCLD hours of service to ensure optimal access to library resources in consideration of budgetary constraints. Mr. Walker said this is an example of an objective where the process is just now commencing, but they have not yet begun to dig into the work. XIII Evaluate internal process to best leverage PCCLD s access to E-rate funds. This item is related to the first item, and staff are now overseeing the process internally. XVII Finish the Integrated Library System RFP process begun in 2017 to support customer service and staff efficiencies. Mr. Walker expects the staff will be bringing a recommendation to the Board in May, and staff have been engaged in comparing ILS vendors. Every year the Library Board votes on the renewal of the contract with Sirsi and BiblioCommons which is about $90,000. Mr. Walker emphasized this is the most heavily used software by staff in the district which is used all the time for checking in and out materials, and it is an important consideration. The committee has been working diligently and expects to report in May. XIX Implement new banking services in concert with new vendor to obtain best financial services for the district. Mr. Walker commented on the improvement in efficiency. Although there was some training to implement the change, the changes will improve how time is spent. XXV Overhaul selected facilities infrastructure to include Rawlings Library exhaust dampers and parking lot lights; Lamb Library air conditioner, roof, and basement lighting; a staff work van; the Barkman Library book drop and parking lot seal coating; and the Pueblo West Library parking lot lights. Mr. Walker said this lists a number of capital projects, and the Lamb HVAC has been replaced, a van has been ordered, and parking lot lights installed. This is an example of an objective that is well underway, and he expects to check off the rest of the list by the end of the year. XXVII Plan to automate vendor payment processes for collection materials in order to improve efficiency and reduce opportunity for clerical error. Mr. Walker said this objective is related to the ILS RFP. The library is poised to save time by integrating fund accounting software with ILS. XXX Update the library capital replacement plan to ensure long-term funding is sufficient to maintain attractive, well-maintained facilities and equipment throughout the district. The library is poised to do that. Overall, the library is off to a good start for the year with more progress to come, and Mr. Walker is pleased with what staff have achieved. Mr. Walker offered to respond to any questions. Ms. Martinez agreed there is a lot going on, and it was a successful first quarter. D. Audit Committee Ms. Martinez said PCCLD plans to issue an RFP for auditing services in July, and there will be discussion of the Board of Trustee Audit Committee scheduling a meeting in May to review the process. Mr. Walker invited Ms. Baca to discuss this. Ms. Baca said it is time to rebid for auditing services, and she would like to schedule a time for the Board Audit Committee to meet to discuss the process. Ms. Baca pointed out that it is management s responsibility to provide financial reports, but it is the Board s responsibility to make sure management does that. One of the ways the Board does that is by engaging a CPA firm to provide the financial audit. The last time the library prepared an RFP for audit services was in 2013 when a five-year audit award was made. Ms. Baca explained the importance of releasing the RFP to audit firms at the optimal time to get as many proposals as possible. Prospective auditors want to know the results of the most recent audit, and Ms. Baca

4 April 17, of 6 expects the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) to be presented to the Board in June. Ms. Baca discussed the issue of getting the RFP out before audit firms start setting their schedule. Ms. Baca would like the Audit Committee, which includes Ms. Bregar, Dr. Mancha and Mr. Stuart, to meet in May. Ms. Martinez asked the Board Secretary to coordinate a meeting of the Audit Committee. E. Gallagher Amendment Ms. Martinez said the Board of Trustees had reviewed projected budget impact of the Gallagher Amendment at the March 29 Board Meeting and would discuss options for the library. Mr. Walker distributed the projected budget impact of Gallagher which is Ms. Baca s analysis of the current legislative economic report at the next re-evaluation. Mr. Walker pointed out the number shown in red will have an ominous negative impact to the budget. What is worse, it is during a time of economic growth. The Gallagher Amendment also affected the library this year, but the continuing decline suggests the percentage could go to zero at some point. The percentage has gone further down over the years since it was first adopted in the State of Colorado. During that meeting, Mr. Walker also presented sample ballot language, and there was discussion of what the district could bring to the local ballot. Mr. Walker obtained the 2018 Election Calendar from the Secretary of State. Mr. Walker pointed out July 30 is the last day for a political subdivision to notify the County Clerk in writing that it has taken formal action to participate in the General Election, October 5 is the last day for official ballots to be printed and in the possession of the County Clerk, and November 6 is the date of the General Election. Mr. Walker said if the Board decided it wanted to do something, the County Clerk must be notified by July 30. Mr. Gradisar was asked to comment on the sample ballot language. Mr. Gradisar said the chance to be most successful is for it to be tied to the fluctuation in the mill levy. Mr. Gradisar said one of the samples had been used by the Colorado Mountain College. Mr. Gradisar had spoken with the attorney for Colorado Mountain College and learned the ballot issue to de-gallagherize had failed by only two or three percentage points, and the trustees had not yet decided whether to try again. Mr. Gradisar said success depends on the appetite of the voters, but Gallagher is not an easy problem to communicate to the average voter. Mr. Gradisar suggested starting early, but once there is a ballot title, the organization can no longer expend budget resources. Before announcing a ballot, an organization may spend budget resources for education or to take polls to find what would be persuasive. Mr. Gradisar also suggested the Board get a committee together in advance. Mr. Walker said one of the questions was if it could be put on the ballot next year, and Mr. Gradisar said it can only be on the ballot in even years. Mr. Stuart asked if the Gallagher Amendment is just an issue of special districts. Mr. Walker said it also affects school districts, but those funds must be backfilled by the state. Part of the problem is it is calculated on a state-wide basis. One of the issues being considered is whether a second home should really be considered a residence. Ms. Baca had an SDA update. Throughout the legislative session, SDA discussed a bill that would extend the timeframe because Gallagher requires a reassessment every other year. One of the ideas being considered is a late session bill that could extend the reassessment to every four years. As of last week, there was nothing more to report. The idea behind that would be to stave off the dropping percentage. The legislature goes out the first week of May, and Mr. Gradisar said it would be unlikely they get anything done before then. Ms. Baca pointed out the down side would be if Pueblo property values increased, the library would not get to benefit from that. Dr. Mancha suggested a committee of Board members to spearhead this. Mr. Quintana commented on the difficulty and importance of posing the language in a way voters understand. Mr. Quintana agreed a committee would be a great idea. Mr. Gradisar said the language must be couched in terms of, Should taxes be increased by or Shall the mill levy be increased by Education will be key because it is really an offset rather than a tax increase.

5 April 17, of 6 There was discussion whether it could be done this year, and in terms of time and energy it would be better to wait until 2020, even though that means the 2020 budget would be impacted. Mr. Stuart said it would be easier to sell after the library loses the money, but it would be a tough year. Mr. Quintana said it would be easier to explain this is what we had, this is what was cut. There are things happening in Pueblo City Schools that will have people relying more on the library. The library should start the initiative now while all these things are converging. Mr. Gradisar suggested the committee consider whether the library district should commission a scientific poll, with questions like, What do you know about Gallagher? Once you put a title on the ballot, the educational process will likely change. There is more leeway and opportunity to do polling to determine what the appetite of the voters is. A committee would be a great way to start that process. Ms. Martinez asked the Board Secretary to send an asking Board members if they would be interested in serving on the committee. Ms. Martinez also suggested this be an ongoing item for discussion on Work Session agendas. F. From Awareness to Funding Ms. Martinez said an overview of a new study on voter perceptions and support of public libraries will be presented for discussion. Mr. Walker distributed the complete report, noting the information was based on surveys made on a national level, so there may be differences on a local level. (Ms. Bregar arrived at this point). The report was produced by the American Library Association (ALA), Public Library Association (PLA), OCLC, and WebJunction with comparisons between polling done in 2008 and at the end of Some of the observations are important to understand and take into consideration, particularly with recent discussions of the Gallagher Amendment. Mr. Walker highlighted a number of the results. A little more than half (55%) of voters consider libraries an essential institution, 53% consider libraries as a source of community pride, 58% feel that public libraries advance education, and 51% believe libraries enhance the quality of life in any community. Seventy percent of voters have visited the library in person in the past year, and two-thirds place high importance on library services such as: having quiet areas for doing work or research (67%), providing free access to books and technology (66%), being convenient to get to (66%), providing free access to computers and the Internet (65%), having a broad range of materials to explore (65%), and providing Wi-Fi (64%). Of those who had visited their library in the past year, 33% had attended a library-organized program or event in the past six months. While a majority of voters value and use the library, just over a quarter (27%) indicate they would definitely vote in favor of a referendum, ballot, or bond measure in support of the local library. They found that voters do not really understand how libraries are funded, and 59% of voters think most library funding comes from non-local sources (state, federal, donations, fines, fees), but in reality 86% of library funding comes from local sources. The majority (61%) of voters have either contributed to or are willing to contribute to fundraising efforts in support of their local library. The comparison of data from the survey done in 2008 with 2018 showed that support for libraries has softened. Voters report visiting the library and its website less frequently (79% in 2008; 70% in 2018). Mr. Walker commented on changes in the use of handheld devices or apps rather than websites, and it becomes critically important as they consider how to position services in the future. Traditional library services, while still popular, are in decline including use of nonfiction (67% in 2008; 53% in 2018), fiction (63% in 2008; 54% in 2018). Mr. Walker displayed a graph showing voter willingness to pay more local taxes for services, as local officials consider what to cut first and where priorities should be when allocating tax dollars. There is a downward trend in support of libraries in general. Mr. Walker displayed a graph showing a small part of the total population (6.5%) support public libraries. The report makes obvious conclusions about the reasons for declines, such as the advancement of the SmartPhone and social media. The recession of 2008 changed the dynamics of the country as

6 April 17, of 6 a whole. Libraries are beginning to look at community outcomes instead of outputs, which will be discussed when Mr. Walker talks about key data results. As sobering as that is, the report found that 95% of all 133 library ballots tracked passed. Mr. Walker commented this is heartening news showing a positive track record for library ballot measures. The report outlines next steps such as public awareness efforts, leverage areas of positive public perception and amplify library resources and impacts for school-age children. The decreased perception of library value and decrease in funding support among the Kid Driven segment are particularly alarming. Mr. Walker concluded the report provides recommendations to insure ongoing success, and this is the sort of information that will become important in the context of the Gallagher Amendment. Ms. Gairaud said while this is interesting, it is important to present information that highlights what the library is doing well. There are good things happening at the library, and we can use some of this information in a very positive way. It is important to bear in mind that our library is ahead of the trend. Ms. Martinez said she is not sure we necessarily fit in the national statistics, but it is nice to read where the trends are leading. In a poor community, the library is more important than in more affluent communities, and because of that it is important to take a proactive approach to the Gallagher Amendment. IV. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Martinez reminded Trustees that the Regular Board meeting would be held on Thursday, April 26 at the Lamb Library, 2525 South Pueblo Boulevard. There being no further discussion, the Work Session adjourned at 4:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jane Carlsen Secretary