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???Director’s ReportPrepared by Donita Ward:? September 24, 2020Attachments:StatisticsBalance SheetProfit and Loss ReportDraft FY2021 BudgetACLD Proposal Budget Adjustment Requests:??None at this timePolicies for Review: none at this timeFinance & AdministrationSales Tax Income took a 28.45% dip this month. That is huge. The September deposit reflects sales in July. Fortunately the year started very strong with the first five months (November 2019 to March 2020), so we are now (just barely) on target to meet last year’s income. The months following that first business closure order have been volatile and we can expect more instability in the foreseeable future.We are still waiting for the Confidential Report. The report usually takes about 45 days to get. We sent in the request back in June. The comptroller’s office has changed the request process, but we hope to get the report in soon. General Election plans continue. There have been a number of issues at the county level between pandemic concerns and some rather contentious contests. Our ducks are in a row.This year, we got another ILL (interlibrary loan) Grant to cover actual costs. However, since the program was used for a shortened time according to the state fiscal year, the funds were less than previous grants. Our annual report was accepted by the state and we qualified again for official Accreditation. ACLD is the group of Library Districts in Texas that come together to hire a firm to watch legislation. In a nutshell, we are a Special Purpose District and Texas has 357 Special Purpose Districts (SPDs). Libraries are very transparent and have quite a bit of public reporting, but other SPDs do not. Often, legislation is proposed or passed that makes a requirement of all SPDs. Only 15 of the SPDs are libraries, so we need to watch that nothing happens that would be catastrophic to libraries. Because the number and length of proposed legislation in any given year is incredibly large and complex, and because language that would affect us is often inserted into otherwise unrelated legislation, it is better to have an expert watch out for library interests statewide. Operations?We remain closed to the public. Our current services include:Borrowing books, movies, audiosBorrowing launchpads and kindles Phone appointments for technology helpNew library card applications for adultsHomebound deliveryLaunchpad and Kindle Agreement Applications Library card renewals for adultsResume ReviewBookflights- tell us what you like and we’ll select some books for youCelebrity Guest Storytimes on Facebook Digital Lilbrary with Overdrive and HooplaResearch and Language Learning DatabasesTumblebooks for little kidsLibrary to Go craft and science packs for familiesNEW public computer use appointmentsNEW Brainfuse JobNow career services including online resume help and mock interviewsNEW Brainfuse HelpNow with live on demand tutoringNEW reserves for high demand itemsCOMING SOON hotspots to borrowFacilities IssuesThe building’s exterior was power washed this month and generations of critters blasted from the eaves. It looks great. Now we can get the masonry repairs completed. New shelving, replacement cabinet doors and a new desk in the kids’ area are coming in this week. That whole area will have a cleaner and more open feel when we are able to reopen. Library Interiors is drawing up a facilities plan to look into our shelving needs and remodel opportunities. Phase one for our big plan was to create a separated teen area for programs and group study/relaxation. This will be located where adult nonfiction currently lives. Adult nonfiction will move to the front of the building and the increased need for shelf space and seating will be accommodated by removing the unwieldly circulation desk and replacing it with a welcome station near where magazines are shelved and a self-check station. The new teen area will be delineated with a glass wall similar to what separates the children’s area from the main library. This creates a sound barrier without losing line of sight for safety. There are always repairs in process. Right now, we are working on the masonry, replacing the evaporator coil in AC unit 8, possibly replacing the rusting book drop, and developing a plan for the current circulation area. Another potential expansion we are considering is a drive-up material return. Next Steps for ReOpeningOnce Travis County drops the Risk Level down to 2, we will begin the process to go into our next phase of reopening. That includes lobby service and small group programming. Lobby service will give patrons the opportunity to enter the building for the first time since March. This will move our contact-free services into the front of the building. Everyone entering will need to wear a face covering and sanitize hands on entry. Policy also requires anyone entering the facility to be COVID symptom free and to NOT have been exposed to anyone symptomatic. These last two requirements may be difficult or impossible to determine and enforce. We will have regular circulation desk services available such as new cards, renewals, and reserve pick-up. We will also reactivate youth cards and send in the paperwork to get back into the TexShare Card program. It will not give patrons the opportunity to just hang out and chat or to browse the stacks, as those behaviors are still a high contagion risk for the patrons and even higher for the staff. Patrons will be able to look at the catalog in the lobby and request items to select. They will come to the front and ask for the books they want to review, or even ask for suggestions. A staff runner will get those items from the shelves for the patrons to preview. Those items that they choose NOT to borrow will be put into quarantine as if they had circulated. This process will keep the materials on the shelves clean(er) and avoid patron congestion in the shelves. We will also reintroduce programming for small groups (less than 10 people or pods, all over age 5). That includes resume workshops, some computer/database workshops, book clubs who choose to go live, and LEGO robotics (not Lego Lab, which will remain virtual), DIY craft nights, and specialty programs we can develop. Internal AffairsTo keep up morale, we are once again having treats and group crafts. Managers are cycling the chance to bring in yummy things and we have a (plastic) pumpkin painting activity for employees.Three employees have children at home who are virtual learners. Two have elected to bring their students to the library for school; the other has a spouse working from home to supervise the student. So far, it’s working well and the kids are in separated offices to work and coming together for recess and lunch. Open Enrollment for insurance is next month. Of the nine eligible employees, 7 are currently participating. All employees are in the EAP, but only 6 are participating in the retirement savings. I plan to make a push for retirement at the November reviews. I am also pushing for everyone to get a flu shot who can. Programs & OutreachOutreach efforts this month included a voter registration drive in the parking lot and continuation of delivery to the assisted living facility. We anticipated that the start of virtual school would have parents calling for tech assistance, but that has not come to pass. We have seen an increase in the number of people using library Wi-Fi in the parking lot and on the porches, but that could also be attributed to nicer weather.Current contact free programs:Science in a Bag projects to goWacky Science weekly on Facebook to demo the science to go packsCraft in a Bag projects to go for kidsStorytime and Craft on facebook to demo the craft in a bagWatercolor program on facebook and supplies available for pick-upYoga on facebookDIY in a Bag projects to goCraftAlong each Wednesday on Zoom Monthly Special Projects for adults on Facebook and Zoom Booksale Items to go- just take one off the cart every day at 2pmStorytimes on facebookCircle time on Zoom Lego Lab on Zoom Social Media shelf browsingOutdoor programming (movies, concert in the yard) is going to be our focus for the upcoming months. We seem to have reached the max of online programming our community can support. Especially with so many families doing work and school online, people are less and less excited to spend more time in front of a computer screen. Winter Reading will run from Nov 15-Jan 15. We are aiming for one special program per week during that time, some will be live and some will be passive programs. We have discussed programs that can happen in the front yard with patrons separated by picnic blankets and movies in the parking lot with family groups in separated parking spaces. Tentative plans are in place for the Invincible Czars in November and an Elf Interactive Film viewing in December. We can do a simple family craft on the front porch by using separate tables for each family/group. Managers are working through the logistics of tables for separation and determining which projects do not require any shared tools. 2021 Draft BudgetI set the sales income projection for the 2021 budget to 10% less than was budgeted for 2020. That is also just over 10% down from the average incomes of 2017-2019. I’ve reduced other income categories to reflect our actual funds collected this year. Overall, the proposed budget reflects a 12.3% decrease from the 2020 budget. Collection expenditures are set at 10% of the income and then divided into categories. This year, I’ve increased digital purchases to 37% to reflect usage trends. Media budgets are lower as fewer titles are being released to CD and DVD (and fewer movies/shows were made in 2020). For employee costs, I maintained the plan set out in previous years to move us toward a $15/hour entry point. That means increasing the generalist wage by 9% annually. I put the same 3% increase as last year for paraprofessionals, managers and librarians. Bonuses this year will be based on actual work done during the 2nd and 3rd quarter as the team really did step up despite unprecedented challenges. I dropped the training budget to reflect that conferences that happen in 2021 will trend to the virtual, which is less expensive. The team building budget is reduced (probably not going out to any events for at least a while) and the unemployment taxes are increased as I expect a rate hike. The budget includes $100K for replacement of the carpeting and circulation desk. If funds are too tight or the economy to volatile, this can certainly be postponed. It does not include election cost as we never know from year to year whether we will have to have an election. The program budget is down 30% overall based on the inability to have the number of large programs we’ve enjoyed in previous years. Supply budgets for our take-and-make projects and passive programming is increased as those have been popular and will continue. Most of the programming we are planning for the first half of 2021 is comparatively inexpensive. I reduced the board budget as we’ll likely not be providing meals at meetings, which represented the majority of expense in years past. We will have increased cost for legislative representation since it is an odd numbered year. I’ve also increased the audit budget. Costs like utilities, landscaping, technology and repairs are based on historical spending without any pandemic adjustment as these don’t seem as dependent on usage or spending. Office supplies and janitorial costs are budgeted as if we are open for all of 2021. The budget for databases increase to accommodate Brainfuse JobNow and HelpNow services.Overall, the budget is based on income of $1.19 million and expenses of $1.1 million with a cushion of about 7%. Next Meeting (live instead of via Zoom?) ................
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