Muskego Library Board approves allowable-cost worksheet, appoints nominating committee; policy votes deferred

The Muskego City Library Board on April 15 approved the Waukesha County allowable cost worksheet used in the county's library funding formula, appointed two members to the board's nominating committee and deferred final votes on updates to its computer and Internet use and meeting-space policies to the May meeting.

The board voted to approve the allowable cost worksheet, a form the director said “is required by Waukesha County” and is used in the county’s budget and library funding calculations. The director told the board the worksheet draws on numbers already visible in the annual report and must be signed by the board president and the director before the end of the month.

Why it matters: the worksheet supplies figures that feed Waukesha County’s funding formula for libraries across the county. Approving it on schedule preserves Muskego’s participation in the county allocation process and meets the director’s stated filing deadline at month’s end.

At the meeting the board president placed the annual nominating-committee appointments on the agenda; the board appointed Phyllis and Dave in absentia to serve on the nominating committee, which will contact board members and present a slate of officers at the board’s annual meeting on May 20. The president said the committee’s main duties are to solicit interest among trustees and present three officer candidates — president, vice president and treasurer — for the May vote.

During the director’s report, the director told trustees the library recorded 67 visits in March and that physical checkouts rose 9% compared with the previous year; she also noted strong use of audiobooks via Hoopla and discussed the library’s participation in statewide services such as the Bridges Library System Advantage program and the CAFE shared catalog. The director reminded the board of an upcoming Friends of the Library fundraiser at Culver’s on May 21 and the board’s annual meeting on May 20.

Board members reviewed two policies that must be renewed on a five-year cycle to remain in compliance with county requirements. The director presented the computer and Internet use policy as a first reading and said the city attorney has reviewed the draft. The meeting-space policy received more substantial edits, including a proposed title change to cover indoor and outdoor meeting spaces and study rooms and language clarifying whether nonresidents may reserve rooms; trustees agreed to discuss and vote on both policies at the May meeting.

Several routine motions passed by voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded in the meeting transcript. Technical audio problems during the meeting disrupted remote participants; the director said she will test equipment and consult IT ahead of the next meeting.