Finance Committee - Regular Meeting

I'm in one. I'm about to do this as I switch my glasses so I can read it correctly. All right. Thank you all for being here and for patiently waiting for me. I apologize. Everybody knows how much I hate being late, so you know. I'm angrier with myself than you are. So I'm going to call this to order for the .

So no worries, no worries. He just walked into it.

I literally came dancing into the doorway about a minute ahead of you. Anyway, we really have one thing broken down into little parts on the agenda, and it is the 2027 budget. I'm going to turn it over to you.

Sure. Thanks.

You're welcome.

So I included a memo, hopefully with some highlights. So we did break it up again between personnel and operating expenses because right now we are really just looking at operating expenses. Salaries and wages and then the things that come with personnel will be decided upon and reviewed and talked about later at the city level. So as I also said, I did prepare it in the new structure. Both Pam and Margaret were at the personnel committee meeting, so they would be able to really speak very much on that subject if wanted. But everything with the new one will show the eliminations and where things are moving. Um, but I did prepare the current structure as well, just to make sure everything balanced and I didn't forget a budget line somewhere along the way. And it did. So, um, I was happy about that. Um, so we kept status quo, um, besides those movement things, there were no other changes in operating expenses except for a little bit for the, um, for the annual bill on the automated material handlers, our AMH, right? Or is the OCLC? OCLC. Oh, online catalog and up a couple hundred dollars. Yeah. And then of course, I don't know yet the insurance on the building. That comes from Shawn Alford Finance at a later date. So he told me just to put in what was there.

Correct.

So that's the only, but that may fluctuate. So should we just go back to questions or where people want to talk?

Sure.

Margaret?

Wait, salary and wages. This year, it was $560,572. And next year, it's going to be.

Salaries and wages?

OK, go ahead. Am I on the wrong thing? And then next year, it says it's only $443,490. I just wanted to kind of, what happened is that.

We haven't put in any cost of living raises yet. Okay. So those increases aren't there. So those aren't added in. So you're looking at last year, there was a cost of living raise and insurance increase from those numbers. They were already added in personnel. And this year, we haven't added anything.

And that is because the city... What page are you looking at?

Public services?

under the public services one the city works all those numbers late in the budget process and there's there's well like the other insurance there's not much you can do but the budget's dropping 21 that's the question you're talking about specifically in public services okay not just overall you're talking specifically this way we had two

positions that are not being rebuilt. Oh, okay. That's fine. I just didn't...

I thought you were talking about just overall why is personnel not snatching? No, I just didn't understand why there was such a discrepancy. Okay, and then... Is there another page that you're looking at? Well, the operating costs we have... Okay, that's, this is 300, how come this is up, this is 382% of, see on the bottom there?

Computer supplies and equipment.

Yeah, because we moved it from that IT page over to public services because IT exists.

Okay, that makes total sense.

All right, thank you.

Sorry. I think that was, that was the part I wanted to ask. And the county thing, that's just based on that formula for me? Why the county is going up. All right. So everything that's the same amount, it's just really because it's being drowned.

Right.

Okay. That's kind of what I thought, but I wanted to make sure for that. That was so far off. Yeah, sure.

Yes. Okay. Two part-time positions are not being reallocated anywhere. Okay. So they're vacant right now. Just to be clear, they're vacant right now. And we are not refilling them in the new structure.

So then what are we doing with those funds? You just used them in other places? Okay. That's great.

That's great. They didn't specifically go to another spot. Okay. It's just we added a manager for one.

Mm-hmm.

So that helps. Okay. So are you looking for... Does that exist? Yeah.

I have a question. Yeah. Oh, sorry. Under maintenance, did you have somebody not take health insurance because you're Health insurance line is dropping 50%.

So we budgeted because nobody was in the full-time specialist job, and we budgeted your family.

Gotcha. Perfect. I just wanted to make sure.

Do we have any way if someone would get married, become a family, decide that they need to?

Just a variance in your budget.

Yeah, you have to. Okay, that wouldn't create mass chaos at all.

Okay, good.

Then should we just... We're required by law.

Well, yeah, but I bet it sounds like, do we need to add something in the budget for that now, or that just happens later on? Right.

Unless you were to budget every full-time position family, just in case, then you can.

The city's not going to do that. They're going to base it on your current enrollment. And then if there's a new hire, you're going to estimate.

If there's a life change, then they're allowed to make that change during the enrollment period or a qualifying life change outside of the enrollment period. But those are variables that we can't predict.

But the city, it will be covered somehow through the city and everything else, as well as our fund balance.

You hope that it all washes out. You save them in other places. With getting new hires versus people leave, and then all those numbers fit in. You basically hope that it all works out good, and you adjust for the coming year based upon it. At the end of the year, you adjust for where you ended up this year for next year. And that tends to smooth out the time. Which is like how we deal with it.

So we're not going to be overdrawn if we don't? No. That was my question. Yeah.

All right, good. OK, perfect. Which brings us to that revenue line, the funding balance. Yes, right, it matched. But that's the first place we pull from. Yes, so to speak, yes. If ever, for any reason. Did you have another question?

Save them up. Now's your chance. No, no. Yeah. No, it just seems pretty clear. I was glad that you did both.

Me too. Because better safe than sorry and better to see how it all works out. It helped me as well. So I do want to point out, though, we are eliminating that system administrator job in IT, and that is because the city has been talking about including IT for the city in a separate way from MPU. If that does not pan out, and I have talked to Shawn about this already and the mayor, if that does not pan out, there is a big need that we do need to have IT support here at the library.

Yeah, well then we gotta amend the budget and we gotta amend the structure. But if it works out, that is a real boon for us from the city. Really pleased that that's being considered seriously.

I think the city as a whole needs to have good IT support. But that would hopefully include us. And especially the public-facing stuff is really where our priorities lie. That when something goes down that affects the public, that becomes a higher priority right away. We want to have somebody around to fix it and get on. Like today.

But we won't see that until the mayor presents his budget.

I know, I know. Right. But I have to do this privately.

Yeah. Well, I mean, I can just say the transition that we went through was difficult for a lot of people. I mean, that opened up the mayor's eyes to say, we need different support.

Yeah. I know there's more discussions to happen, but I'm saying everything from my side says that that's how we're going to do things. But if it doesn't pan out that way, then we do need to revisit the budget in that way. And they both know that.

Then that would be adding it, not taking stuff out of our rights. We would just say we need more money to support this position because it's vital to our operations. I agree. Good.

the need has to be met somewhere okay this was very well done thank you just making sure so right now right it looks like a decrease but it's not final in that way because of yeah more of the city stuff that's true hopey hopey we wait and see health insurance is it's still going to be a

Even with the change in brokers or a change in TPAs?

Right.

Or switching from going back to United?

Right. But it's still positive.

It just is. Right.

Well, we don't know what salary increases are going to be at either until the mayor proposes his budget.

So really this is operating costs.

I should meet with the mayor at 5 o'clock to talk about that.

Yeah.

Fun meeting. Fun thing to look forward to.

And I always include the fund balance to let you know where we left. And it is the negative $129,533 because of the HVAC project that we took those back from. Otherwise, we were in positive.

We want to be, though, between 10 and 15, so we're still perfect.

Yes, yes. Okay. That's not a normal year. Yes, we have to spend money. That's not a normal year. We would have been in the positive at the end of year, but it just looks like we went. Because they just took it like that.

Okay.

You had that. You have. fund balance on the budget, correct?

For 2026?

Yeah, if I looked at your spreadsheets, correct.

That wouldn't be until the end of the year.

Gotcha. If you need it.

If we need it. Well, and because of our IT position, we're not going to need it. It's just last year we also added positively without even dipping into fund balance. But it just looks like we didn't.

That's what it's there for.

Yeah. Yes, and we needed that upgrade.

Oh, yeah.

No, I think this is good. We should be between 10 and 15. We are. So I mean, if we spend money next year or save money next year, as long as we're between 10 and 15, we can do our job, right? Do we need someone to make a motion?

Yes. I'll make a motion to accept the budget.

Any motion?

Second.

Second. Motion to second to accept and recommend to the full board budget as presented here any more questions nope I'm good okay all those in favor say aye opposed say nay hearing none motion to adjourn so moved thank you sir second All those in favor of adjournment, say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Hearing none, we are adjourned.