Library Board Approves Conservative 2018-2019 Budget
June 20, 2018 — The Springfield-Greene County Library District’s 2018-2019 budget reflects the conservative outlook of recent years, as revenue lags, expenses grow and state funding remains flat, said Executive Director Regina Greer Cooper. The Library Board of Trustees unanimously approved the new budget at its monthly meeting Tuesday, June 19. It takes effect July 1.
The $20,215,481 budget is up from last year’s $19,591,382. Tax revenue is projected at 3 percent.
Personnel costs are 60 percent of the operating budget, or $9,069,980, slightly lower than the previous year. However, the budget includes a salary track raise for all eligible employees, and a 2 percent raise for those off the track.
To make up for increased expenses, the budget reduces spending for collections – books, digital materials, DVDs, CDs – from $2,216,228 to $2 million. Library officials cut costs in every area they could first, Cooper said, “and the last place we could was in collections.”
It could mean fewer new items on library shelves, but patrons can always borrow millions of materials from academic and public libraries across the country through MOBIUS and Interlibrary Loan.
The budget includes expenditures of $15,048,343, because the additional $5.1 million of the new budget must be kept aside to cover expenses that occur from July 2019 through December 2019. That operating cash carry-forward is necessary to cover expenses due to the timing of the district’s incoming revenue, Cooper said.
Some budget details:
· Tax revenue is projected to be $13,554.075.
· Income from out-of-county cardholder fees, $104,000.
· State funding is expected to be flat at $154,566, with state aid being 38 cents per capita.
· Income from library fines, $225,000.
· Passport Acceptance Center income is projected to be $255,000, up from last year’s $175,000.
· The library expects a $22,000 disbursement from the new Laton Endowment Fund, which totals over $575,000.
· The Library also expects at least $157,240 in grants from the Friends of the Library, and $35,900 in distributions from the Library Foundation.
The Board of Trustees also elected new officers: Catherine “Katie” Moore, president; William Garvin, vice president; Michele Risdal-Barnes, secretary; Cindy Waites, treasurer.
The board also welcomed the newest member, Emily Denniston, on her appointment by the City of Springfield to a term that expires in 2020, filling a spot vacated by Matt Simpson. She is vice president of public affairs for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.