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Treasurer’s Report
Deborah suggested depositing more funds in the debit
checking account so it does not become overdrawn. The
balance is down to $93.09. The group decided to wait on
this until we decide how to reorganize all our funds
generally. Debra suggested decreasing the amount of
petty cash in the library from $50 to $25.
Mary reported that there is a local agent for
SmithBarney — Tim Fisher in Lyme — who would be glad to
meet with us to discuss our financial needs. Mary
happened to speak with him because he oversees the 401k
investments for
APD.
Following some discussion, the board decided to invite
Fisher with SmithBarney and Jon
Molesworth from Ledyard Bank to upcoming board meetings.
Deborah will contact each of them and see if one can
come to the January meeting and one can come to the
February meeting. She will share with them copies of our
past statements and our financial policies.
Deborah also reported on the growth of two designated
funds in our portfolio. The Nature Books Fund has grown
from $500 to $634.12 since the late 1990s. The Titus
Fund has grown from $4000 to $5088.83 in this same
period. We are only allowed to spend the interest from
these two funds. The balance of the remaining
undesignated funds totals $25,983.15.
Librarian’s Report
Debra has been in touch with Debbie Messer at the town
office about deadlines for the town report. This needs
to be in by the first of the year. There was some
discussion about topics to be covered. Mary offered to
write the first draft. Debra said that the old computer
desk from the former library is no longer being used at
the town office and she retrieved it. She asked if the
board would consider selling it to her, but Cindi felt
that we should wait on this until we know what might be
needed for the new computers we may install as part of
the library automation.
Budget Deliberations
Cindi continued with a line-by-line budget deliberation:
•
cleaning salary — based upon the increased amount
discussed at the previous meeting, this will now total
$1547
•
fuel — there is no set price yet, though Cindi noted
that we just paid $3.04 gallon for a delivery in
November compared to $1.87 gallon for a delivery last
January. We used 871 gallons in 2007. Figuring about 880
gallons at $3 per gallon, we should budget $2640 in the
coming year.
•
computer telephone — unfortunately we were not able to
be included in the first round of Verizon
DSL signups, Debra reported. She did have a firmer list of costs,
though, including the cost to run a new line from the
outside ($49.55), the monthly charge for this new line
($39.10 per month), the monthly
DSL
charge ($79.99 per
month), and various one-time equipment and set-up costs
($155). She estimated the total would be about $1859. So
the board decided to budget $2000 for computer
telephones based upon this figuring.
•
regular telephone — $300 based upon $25 per month
•
“automation conversion” — software, hardware, and
furniture to implement the electronic card cataloging
system will likely total $6000, though some of
this may be offset by fund appeals Peter has made to
Verizon and
IBM. The total includes $275 for upgrading the ResourceMate
software for three users, $2437 for three new
workstations, and $3401 for new computers for these
stations, a router, etc.
•
septic — $300 needs to be added to the 2008 budget since
the septic pumping did not occur in 2007 as planned.
•
programs — Debra would like to offer three Humanities
Council programs in the coming year rather than two, as
was done this year. This would require an additional
$250 beyond the $750 budgeted this year. It was noted
that this past year we received $335.28 in income toward
the programs, though we still need to show the full
expenditure anticipated. After some deliberation, the
board approved the $1000 line item.
Somewhat related to this last item was the question of
changing the library hours on Wednesday to either 3 to 7
p.m. or 2 to 7 p.m. (it is currently 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Wednesdays). This would have the benefit of the library
being open when school lets out and also allowing
programs to begin a little earlier in the evenings.
Debra also proposed that the librarian’s hours be
increased an additional five hours per week, which she
reported “is the average number of hours that I have
been putting in as uncompensated time for the past few
years.” And she requested that the shelver hours be
increased by an additional six hours per week “to assist
with programming and other tasks.” There was
considerable discussion about priorities, what would not
get done if Debra ceased working those uncompensated
hours, whether volunteers can be utilized for some of
this, and whether the automation will decrease demands
on her time. The board acknowledged that she should not
be
working uncompensated hours. There was also discussion
about a possible need to update the librarian’s job
description, which has not been changed since 1987,
according to Debra. Deborah offered to sit down with
Debra in the coming month and review the job description
and the questions we raised. While all agreed that the
issues raised are significant, the board did not feel
prepared to act on these requests yet.
Librarian Evaluation
Cindi shared with Debra the written evaluation and the
job performance checklist prepared by the board. The
librarian will receive a three percent raise in the
coming year and full medical coverage through the town,
though Cindi said it is not yet known which medical plan
will be used.
Next
Monthly Meeting: Tuesday, January 8, at 6 p.m.
Adjourned at
8 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Tifft, Secretary
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