Milwaukee County Federated Library System
Board of Trustees
Minutes of

Regular Monthly Meeting Held Monday, October 22, 2007

At

Milwaukee County Federated Library System
709 North Eighth Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233

ROLL CALL

Present:            Martin Schreiber, President
                        Paul Ziehler, Vice President
                        Ron Tays, Treasurer
                        Michele Bria, Trustee
                        Dan Devine, Trustee
                        Mardee Gruen, Trustee
                        Excused: Mike D’Amato, Trustee

Staff:                 Jim Gingery, Director
                        Steve Heser, Library Systems Administrator
                        Judy Kaniasty, Business Manager/Personnel Assistant (Recorder)

Others:             Don Bulley, South Milwaukee Public Library Board
                        Colette Cesarz, Hales Corners Public Library Board
                        Bruce Gay, Milwaukee Public Library
                        Paula Kiely, Milwaukee Public Library
                        Pat Laughlin, Hales Corners Public Library

I. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF NEW MCFLS BOARD MEMBER – Mr. Dan Devine. President Schreiber called the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System Board of Trustees meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. and welcomed the newest member of the Board, Dan Devine. Trustee Devine stated that he is a Milwaukee County Supervisor and has been since 2004; he represents parts of Greendale, Greenfield and West Allis. Dan also serves on the Milwaukee Public Library Board of Trustees. MCFLS Board Members then introduced themselves to Trustee Devine noting their respective affiliations.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. Treasurer Tays moved and Vice President Ziehler seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the meeting held Monday, September 24, 2007 which are shown as Attachment A of the agenda packet. Unanimously approved.

III. PUBLIC COMMENT. None

IV. LIBRARY DIRECTORS ADVISORY COUNCIL – REPORTS.

Reports of the September 13, 2007 and October 4, 2007 LDAC meetings were not distributed at the meeting, however it is anticipated they will be at the next meeting which will be held November 26, 2007. Vice President Ziehler questioned whether the MCFLS Board would find it useful to see the demo that was shared with the LDAC relating to the Ecommerce topic. Director Gingery explained that that demo was primarily a showing of the computer screens which the public will see when performing payment of fines. Vice President Ziehler thanked Director Gingery for the explanation and it was determined that a demo would not be necessary.

V. BOARD OF TRUSTEES – COMMITTEE AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS REQUIRING ACTION.

A. Finance and Personnel Committee.

1. Financial Report – August, 2007. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of the August 2007 financial report which is shown as Attachment B of the agenda packet. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the August 2007 financial report as presented. Unanimously approved.

2. 2008/09 Lease Contract – MPL. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of the 2008/09 MPL Lease Contract, which is shown as Attachment C of the agenda packet. Attachment C is a letter from MPL Director Paula Kiely wishing to extend the current agreement for two years, updating the payment for 2008 to $119,250 and for 2009 to $122,000 and changing the expiration date to 12/31/09. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the 2008/09 MPL Lease Contract as presented. Unanimously approved.

3. 2008/09 Delivery Contract – Bonded Transportation Solutions, Inc. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of Attachment D of the agenda packet which is the 2008-2009 Delivery Services Contract which is based on a per tub and per stop cost negotiated between Director Gingery and Bonded Administration. The 2008 terms in the proposed contract are the same as negotiated with Bonded in April 2007 and will not change until 2009. President Schreiber requested that the MCFLS legal council review the contract prior to signing. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the proposed 2008/09 Delivery Contract pending legal council review. Vice President Ziehler stated that a contract through 2009 with no increase would have been optimal. Director Gingery agreed, but reported that Bonded, as part of this contractual negotiating process, had actually requested a three percent increase in both of the years 2008 AND 2009 and these contract terms thus represent a compromise ; no increase for 2008 and a three percent increase for 2009. Unanimously approved.

4. 2008 Delivery Contract – MPL. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of the proposed 2008 Delivery Contract with MPL. Attachment E of the agenda packet is a letter from MPL Director Paula Kiely requesting continuing the current agreement, updating the payment calculation from $58,319 for 2007 to $59,316 for 2008 and changing the expiration date to 12/31/08. Director Gingery noted that this contract is based on the salary of one delivery driver employee of Milwaukee’s and is within the 2008 budget. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the 2008 Delivery Contract with MPL as proposed. Unanimously approved.

5. 2008 West Milwaukee Charges. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of Attachment F of the agenda packet which shows the final calculation used to determine the amount due MCFLS for payment for use of MCFLS member libraries by Village of West Milwaukee residents for the year 2007. There is approximately a $6,000 increase from last year and this is based primarily on the increased member library expenditures since circulation is down slightly. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve sending the invoice to West Milwaukee containing the calculations shown in Attachment F as prepared. Unanimously approved.

6. 2008 Line Item Budget and Narrative. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee, due to time constraints, did not discuss this agenda item at their meeting immediately prior to this meeting. Director Gingery reviewed Attachment G of the agenda packet and discussion ensued concerning a few of the items. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the 2008 MCFLS budget as presented. Vice President Ziehler pointed out a few issues with spreadsheet, primarily related to making sure % were correctly reflected. Director Gingery will complete this information and a revised version will be attached to these minutes as Exhibit 2. Unanimously approved.

7. Reciprocal Borrowing Fund – Board Designated Fund. Director Gingery reviewed Attachment H of the agenda packet which is his recommendation to establish a Board designated fund for the 2008 budget cycle with the purpose of depositing a one-time payment of $450,000 to help offset the reciprocal borrowing payment increase of more than $500,000 in 2009. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to approve the actions outlined in Attachment H. Unanimously approved.

8. 2008 MCFLS System Plan and Program Budget. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee, due to time constraints, did not discuss this agenda item at their meeting immediately prior to this meeting. The 2008 MCFLS System Plan and Program Budget was distributed at the meeting and is shown as Exhibit 1 attached to these minutes. Director Gingery noted that when the State receives and approves the document then they release the first State Aid payment in November, which is 75% of the total; the second payment of 25% will be released in May. Treasurer Tays moved and Vice President Ziehler seconded a motion to submit the 2008 MCFLS System Plan and Program Budget as presented. Unanimously Approved.

9. MCFLS Staffing Request. Treasurer Tays reported that the Finance & Personnel Committee recommends approval of Attachment I of the agenda packet, which is a request to hire a part-time, temporary employee because of continuing absence of Diane O’Hotto, who has been out since Labor Day due a back injury suffered. It is not known how long Diane will be out, but it could be quite awhile. Funding will come from the contingency fund. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Bria seconded a motion to hire a part-time temporary Administrative Assistant as requested in Attachment I of the agenda packet. Discussion ensued. Unanimously Approved.

B. Appointment of the MCFLS Board of Trustees Nominating Committee – 2008 MCFLS Board Officers. President Schreiber announced that he appoints Trustee D’Amato, Trustee Gruen, Trustee Devine, and himself to discuss the nominees for the 2008 Slate of Officers and report back at the next meeting.

C. Interlibrary Loans/Holds of Media Items – Recommended Meeting. Director Gingery reviewed Attachment J of the agenda packet and added that a decision regarding interloan affects all members. The two major requirements of being a system member are same service and interloan of materials. It is important to maintain reciprocity of services among member libraries. Treasurer Tays moved and Trustee Devine seconded a motion to facilitate a meeting to discuss impact of MPL’s proposed elimination of media holds. Paula Kiely stated that the decision was budgetary and eliminating the holds of media items will save approximately $100,000; they do not want to cut library hours or materials budget. Further discussion ensued. Director Gingery suggested that perhaps other alternative options could be considered instead of eliminating holds on media items—such as lowering the number of holds patrons can place at any one time or self-checkout to free up staff time. Motion unanimously approved to facilitate a meeting to be held November 1st at North Shore Library. Trustee Bria asked whether an agenda and background information would be distributed prior to the meeting for informational purposes. Director Gingery responded that an agenda would be sent but wasn’t sure how much background would be ready. (Note: Director Gingery subsequently prepared a PowerPoint presentation for the meeting and distributed via email). Paula Kiely noted that she would not be personally able to attend the November 1st meeting since that is a City of Milwaukee budget amendment day. The budget will be finalized on November 15th.

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATIONAL ITEMS.

A. Director’s Report. Director Gingery referred to his report, shown as Attachment K of the agenda packet. Vice President Ziehler noted that all 15 member libraries have now signed the member agreement and thanked Director Gingery for that.

VII. NEXT MEETING DATES.

A. Finance and Personnel. Scheduled for November 26, 2007 beginning at 8:45 a.m.

B. MCFLS Board of Trustees. Scheduled for November 26, 2007 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT. With no further business to come before the Board, Vice President Ziehler moved and Trustee Gruen seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:05 a.m. Unanimously approved.