Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSp. Library Parcel Tax Committee 2019-11-19 Agenda SPECIAL LIBRARY PARCEL TAX COMMITTEE AGENDA Tuesday, November 19, 2019 6:00 P.M. Main Library Meeting Room – 1100 E. St. San Rafael, CA 94901 CALL TO ORDER • Roll Call AGENDA AMENDMENTS MINUTES 1. Approve regular meeting minutes of Oct 1, 2019 MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 2. Public Comment from the audience regarding items not listed on the agenda. Speakers are encouraged to limit comments to 3 minutes. MATTERS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE 3. Review the FY 2019/2020 1st Quarter Annual Revenue and Expenditure Budget Report 4. Review Draft FY 2018/2019 Annual Revenue and Expenditure Report from Committee to City Council Notice Any records relating to an agenda item, received by a majority or more of the Board less than 72 hours before the meeting shall be available for inspection in City Hall, 1400 Fifth Avenue. Sign Language interpreters and assistive listening devices may be requested by calling (415) 485-3066 (voice), emailing Lindsay.lara@cityofsanrafael.org or using the California Telecommunications Relay Service by dialing “711”, at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. Copies of documents are available in accessible formats upon request. Public transportation is available through Golden Gate Transit, Line 22 or 23. Paratransit is available by calling Whistlestop Wheels at (415) 454-0964. To allow individuals with environmental illness or multiple chemical sensitivity to attend the meeting/hearing, individuals are requested to refrain from wearing scented products. 1 LIBRARY PARCEL TAX COMMITTEE DRAFT MINUTES _____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2nd floor Conference Room – 1400 5th Ave., San Rafael, CA October 1, 2019 – 6:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Chair Brinckerhoff called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Roll Call Board Members Present: Phyllis Brinckerhoff, Gregg Kellogg, Peter Lee, Pamela Cook, (Gil Pruitt) arrived 6:12 PM) Board Members Absent: None Staff Present: Henry Bankhead, Assistant Library & Recreation Director/City Librarian, Susan Andrade-Wax, Library & Recreation Director, AGENDA AMENDMENTS None MINUTES 1. Approve regular meeting minutes of July 2, 2019 A motion was made by Board Member Cook, seconded by Board Member Lee, to approve the minutes of the July 2, 2019 meeting with spelling and capitalization corrections made by Lee and Kellogg. The motion was approved unanimously. MEETING OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 2 2. Public Comment none MATTERS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE 3. Review the FY 2018/2019 4th Quarter Annual Revenue and Expenditure Budget Report Board members weighed in on an alternate format for the budget spreadsheet and favored keeping the original format that shows the totals of Measure D and the General fund expenditures for the library. The Board also desired to see the PDF of the document produced in a more print-friendly format. Board member Cooke suggested showing round numbers with no decimal places. Board member Lee questioned the large amount of expenditures for Contract Services, particularly for MARINet. Bankhead explained the costing formula for MARINet is based on population, circulation and holdings and went on to explain that the City is 15% of the consortium. Bankhead also suggested an open source online catalog as a strategy to reduce costs. Board member Lee wanted to see Contract Services line unbundled into specific lines. Board member Lee also asked for the current number of senior exemptions. (Bankhead estimated 100). Board member Lee asked for clarification on the 33,418 listed as revenue for the 18/19 general Fund. Bankhead responded that this represented library fines collected in 18/19. Several members were surprised, assuming that the library no longer collected fines. Bankhead explained that the San Rafael Library still charged fines for adult materials, but not for youth materials. 4. Planning FY 2018/2019 Annual Revenue and Expenditure Report from Committee to City Council Board members Lee and Cook agreed to draft the Committee Report to City Council based on the previous year’s report which Brinkerhoff would provide. Staff agreed to forward to the Board information that would indicate what proportion the library’s general fund budget was compared to the overall general fund. This is to help the committee draft their report with the shared understanding that maintaining general proportionality was a shared goal that is non-binding. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 7:13 P.M. SAN RAFAEL PUBLIC LIBRARY 2019/2020 FIRST QUARTER REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE BUDGET REPORT as of September 30, 2019 Summary This report provides year-to-date figures on the General Fund and Parcel Tax funding spending for the fourth quarter of 2019/2020. As of this report, 25% of the fiscal year has elapsed. The overall activity was 27% expended. General Fund expenditures ended at 28% of budget and Parcel Tax expenditures ended at 25% of budget. Revenue Highlights • The Parcel Tax revenue provides 25% of the Library’s total operations budget. • The Friends of the Library provide 1% of the Library’s total operations budget. Expenditure Highlights • General Fund expenditures: 1. Contract Services expenditures are significantly high as the Library experienced an increase in MARINet costs and the total amount of the MARINet costs for the year has been paid during the first quarter. 2. Digital Branch Resources is significantly high as part of the MARINet costs, paid in full, is paid out of the Digital Resources account. 3. Office supplies are slightly high due to the purchase of furniture for the new Teen Area. • Parcel Tax expenditures: 1. Extra-hire costs are high as the library has several open positions which have been backfilled using temporary staffing. City of San Rafael Special Library Parcel Tax Committee Report FY 2018-2019 The Committee’s sole function shall be to review the expenditures of the revenues from the Special Library Services Parcel Tax, adopted by Measure D on June 7, 2016 to ensure the monies have been expended in accordance with the authorized purposes of Measure D. Measure D replaced Measure C which expired on June 30, 2017. This is the second year of the nine year span for Measure D. The Committee met six times to review library budget and actual expenditures. The Committee agrees that the actual expenditures for the fiscal year are in line with the budgets and stated purpose of Measure D funds as stated on the ballot: “maintain library hours, equipment, materials, and services for children, teens, and adults.” Total expenditures budgeted for Measure D funds for FY 2018-2019 were $1,243,205, which represents 27% of the total library budget of $4,605,761. The amount actually spent was $1,144,663 (preliminary and unaudited). In previous reports of Measures C and D, the committee listed as a task: “to ensure that the Library maintains its share of the general fund.” This was listed because the text of Measure D states that the parcel tax would “provide a critical, consistent, locally– controlled source, augmenting current general fund allocations…” When Measure D passed, the committee used the same method the City Attorney indicated upon passage of Measure C: the proportion of the Library of the General Fund Budget. In both cases, it was 4.4%. However, during the term of Measure C, the percentage was not and could not be maintained each year due to mandated expenses for specific departments. These were noted in the Committee’s reports as acceptable variances. The City questioned the validity of the 4.4% as a measure. During the year, the Committee/members of the Committee met with the Mayor, City Manager, Community Services Director, and Finance Director. At the July 2, 2019 Library Parcel Tax Committee Meeting, all parties agreed to the following (from the minutes of the meeting): General agreement that the proportionality would remain at 4.4 % but that it is a shared goal that is non-binding. It is the goal of the committee to be in alignment with the ongoing proportionality that has been established. (Note, we do not yet have audited numbe rs to indicate the percentage of the General Fund allocated to the Library for 2018-2019). With the recent establishment of the Library and Recreation department, which merges together the previously independent Library, Community Service, Child Care, and Recreation departments, the Committee will closely monitor the Measure D revenue and expenditures. The Finance Department has assured the Committee that Measure D funds will continue to be used only for the specific Library services for which it is authorized. The committee, therefore, expects that there will be a way to identify and break out the Library’s share of the General Fund. The unaudited parcel tax fund balance for FY 2018 -2019 is reported as $203,137. This includes the remaining balance of $126,376 from Measure C. The remaining balance of the Capital Set Aside (which was created from Measure C funds) as of June 30, 2019 was $353,335. The restrictions for the use of Measure D funds restrict them from being used for facility improvement or replacement. The Committee will be monitoring the ongoing planning for the new and improved Library facilities to ensure that Measure D funds are used appropriately.