Committee recommends two-year Bibliotheca maintenance contract for Blount County Library

The Blount County Budget Committee voted March 12 to forward a $23,632.72 request to fund a two-year maintenance and repair contract with Bibliotheca for the county library’s book sorter.

Library officials told the committee the amount covers the next two years of repairs and maintenance and that the vendor agreed to reduce its original annual asking price. "After previously bringing this forward to the county ... we did some negotiating with the contract group and they had agreed to drop the original asking price that they had asked of I believe $17,386 per year to down to the $11,528 for the first year and a 5% CPI after that," the library director said. The director added that the agreement and price concessions are documented in email and contract records.

Committee members asked how this would be funded; the director said the expenditure would come from the library fund balance, which she stated is just under $1.5 million. Commissioners also asked whether the earlier purchase included a warranty; the director said the original purchase included a manufacturer warranty and that the proposed contract functions as an extended warranty covering repairs and parts replacement.

A motion to forward the resolution (mover: Ms. Hannah; second: Commissioner Bright) passed with four yes votes. The item will appear on the commission workshop agenda for further action.