Pierce County Library Board to discuss mid-year budget and other issues

At its July meeting the Pierce County Library System’s Board of Trustees will discuss the Library’s mid-year budget; future library services and buildings, known as Pierce County Library 2030; partnership and sponsorship policies; and other issues. The Board of Trustees will meet at the Pierce County Library System’s Processing and Administrative Center, 3005 112th St. E., in Tacoma on Wednesday, July 8, from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

Three of the primary issues the board will address include the following.

• Mid-year budget–Clifford Jo, the Library’s Director of Finance & IT, will ask the Board to approve the Library’s mid-year budget. Changes to the 2009 operating budget focus on three goals: preserving the promises from a re-authorized levy voters passed in 2006, improving technology operations, and savings that offset revenue shortfalls. The proposed mid-year budget reduces the 2009 operating budget by $1.2 million, going from $29.1 million to $28.9 million. The primary reductions in the budget include savings from vacant positions, overall operating savings and efficiencies, and a decline in retirement rates from the State of Washington. This reduction should help offset an expected drop in revenues from property taxes, which funds 96 percent of the Library’s budget.
• Future library services and buildings—Pierce County Library 2030: The Library is reviewing comments on draft recommendations for future library services and buildings provided from hundreds of individuals who attended public meetings and community leaders advisory group meetings this spring. It is also reviewing and refining a draft schedule for implementation. Group 4, the architecture research and planning firm working with the Library to develop Pierce County Library 2030, is expected to present its final recommendations for the plan in December 2009. Then, the Library will talk further with communities about the plan in 2010. The draft recommendations included adding a library in Frederickson, along with expanding all 17 current buildings and relocating some libraries. The recommendations consisted of increased seating; expanded spaces for people to read, study, and gather; more computers; and a wider selection of books and materials.
• Partnership and sponsorship policies–The Library’s Executive Director Neel Parikh will present revisions to Board policies regarding partnerships and sponsorships. The partnership policy focuses on the Library’s active efforts to form partnerships with a variety of organizations to support and enrich the communities it serves. The sponsorship policy focuses on the Library and Pierce County Library Foundation’s active work to gain sponsors from a variety of organizations or individuals to help underwrite the costs to expand public access to library services and further the Library’s mission and vision.

The Library System has been serving people in Pierce County for 63 years.