Library board reviews first read of 2027 operating budget; agrees to add $5,000 buffer to meet state minimum

Board members reviewed a first reading of the library’s 2027 operating budget on June 16 and directed staff to add modest “breathing room” to the electronic materials line so the library comfortably meets the state minimum to qualify for an exemption.

The Director explained the packet is still draft because city salary and benefit numbers are not available until July 24; she said she had kept the budget at the bare minimum level that hits the state’s new minimum to exempt figure: “So, I have kept it to the bare minimum, which means we need to spend every penny,” she told the board. Trustees agreed they preferred a small cushion rather than risking failure to meet the exemption threshold and settled on adding about $5,000 to the electronic materials line to provide that buffer.

Trustees also raised performance concerns about the city‑wide cleaning contract. The Director said she and staff had reviewed the contract and found that many of the daily services listed were not reliably performed: “Out of 13 daily services, only four of them are things that we're giving them the clear on,” she said. Staff plan to meet with the cleaning company and the city procurement contact to enforce standards or seek remediation; the cleaning contract is administered at the city level and the director has looped city leadership into the follow‑up.

Other operating‑budget highlights in the discussion: the packet assumes a 2.5% COLA pending city salary uploads; print and AV spending was trimmed slightly based on multi‑year trends; maintenance and utility lines were increased to reflect inflation and a planned roof repair; and modest increases were proposed for training and mileage to expand staff participation in conferences and free continuing education. The board held the operating budget to two more readings (the next meeting is scheduled for July 21) and the full packet is due to the city on July 27.