05.10.17 - EB Meeting Minutes

EXECUTIVE BOARD MINUTES

BERGEN COUNTY COOPERATIVE LIBRARY SYSTEM

New Milford Public Library

May 10, 2017 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PRESIDING:                 Kurt Hadeler                              Mahwah

PRESENT:                    Marie Coughlin                          BCCLS

                                      Christine Hartigan                      East Rutherford

                                      Jennifer Breuer                          Glen Ridge

                                      Mimi Hui                                   Hasbrouck Heights

                                      Laurence Bergmann                  Livingston

                                      Tina DeLucia                             New Milford

                                      Susan Meeske                          Old Tappan

                                      Daragh O'Connor                      River Edge

                                      Laura Rifkin                              Washington Township

                                      Samantha McCoy                      West Caldwell

ALSO PRESENT:        Darlene Swistock                      Recorder of Minutes

GUESTS:                      Eric Lozauskas                          BCCLS

                                      Radwa Ali                                 Bogota

                                      Stephanie Bellucci                     Cliffside Park

                                      Mary Witherell                           Englewood

                                      Gerry McMahon                        Franklin Lakes

                                      Monica Smith                            Hawthorne

                                     Terrie McColl                            New Milford

                                     Kathleen McGrail                       Upper Saddle River

                                     Lori Quinn                                 Waldwick

Kurt Hadeler called the meeting to order at 9:35 am.  

1.   Minutes of the Meeting on April 12, 2017

Meeting was held in Old Tappan, not New Milford, removed “Recommendation for Termination” from the title under Old Business, and deleted the duplicate New Business section.  

2.   Public Portion 

No public present. 

3.   Treasurer's Report 

Samantha McCoy presented the April 2017 P & L Reports.

April 2017

Of the 2017 Budget of $3,391,100

$3,171,640 has been received as of April 30, 2017

Leaving a balance of                        $219,460

Total expenses                               $1,621,871

Leaving a balance of                      $1,769,229

As of April 30, 2017, the account balances were:

• Checking                                           $121,122
• NJ Cash Management                   $1,210,778
• Scholarship                                         $40,817 

There were no questions about the budget during the meeting, but Samantha McCoy advised that she received questions about the budget and expenditures via e-mail from Kathleen McGrail and will share the answers at the next Executive Board meeting. 

The audit report was also distributed to the members of the Executive Board charged with governance.  Kurt Hadeler noted that there are some financial reporting issues to address, but BCCLS is in good financial health.  If there are any questions about the audit, he asked that they be e-mailed to Marie Coughlin and Samantha McCoy and they will be addressed at the next meeting.  Marie Coughlin advised that The Spire Group will visit the BCCLS office at the end of June or the beginning of July. 

4.   Correspondence

The letter dated May 1, 2017 to the Board of Trustees of the Rochelle Park Library Association (RPLA) indicated that since no plan of compliance had been submitted by April 12^th and the RPLA remains neither a municipal nor an association library as required in Article I, Section 3(a) of the BCCLS Bylaws, the Executive Board recommended termination of the RPLA's membership in BCCLS to the System Council.  

5.   President's Report 

Kurt Hadeler's report was previously distributed to the board members. 

The Billing Task Force received good feedback on the new billing structure during the 7 Small Group Meetings held in March and April.  They will informally introduce the structure to the System Council in June, formally in September and then vote in October.  It will show how the BCCLS budget and the billing components correlate.  He mentioned his visit to the newly renovated Paramus Library on a Friday afternoon and it was full of activity.  He also advised that the “Transform Your Stacks to Drive Circulation” program received amazing feedback and may lead to libraries requesting individual consultations with the presenter.  Lastly, he thanked Stephanie Bellucci, Gretchen Kaser and Matthew Latham for running to finish the term of Gina Webb-Metz who took a non-director position within BCCLS. 

There were no questions from the membership about his report. 

6.   Executive Director's Report

Marie Coughlin's report was also previously distributed to the board members.  

She shared the ALA Resolution celebrating the life and career of Robert White and his impact on libraries in New Jersey.  She anticipates extending offers soon to fill the office vacancies created as a result of Trevor Diamond moving on and the upcoming retirement of Arlene Sahraie.  She is also working on the 2018 budget.  It will be introduced at the Executive Board meeting in August and the System Council in September.  Depending on the vote at the System Council on Friday, the budget may be tweaked if it needs to be recalculated based on 76 libraries rather than the current 77 libraries.    Kurt Hadeler noted that there will be separate votes at the System Council in September:  one for the introduction of the 2018 budget and rate card, and another for the introduction of the billing structure.  Marie Coughlin advised that if the new billing structure is not approved and we need to revert to our current billing structure, it does not mean that the flat fees for operating shares, PC service contracts or telecommunication will remain the same; they may need to be raised. 

There were no questions from the membership about her report. 

7.   Committee Reports

a)    Policies & Procedures – Policy Changes and Corrections

Jennifer Breuer, chair, reviewed the recommended changes and updates to 3 sections of the P&P Manual as a result of the migration to Cloud Library and CDR's review of catalog policy submissions.  She thanked Samantha McCoy and Kathleen McGrail for their help as beta testers.  She will make the change to the DVDs & Blu-rays Section recommended by Kurt Hadeler and then resubmit to the Executive Board.  

It was MOVED BY:  Samantha McCoy                      Seconded by:  Laura Rifkin to send the proposed revisions to System Council for a vote in June. 

b)    Adult Services & Youth Services Committees – Summer Reading Expo Evaluation

This was another successful event and Marie Coughlin thanked the Maywood Public Library for hosting. 

8.   Old Business

a)    Rochelle Park Library Association – Recommendation of Termination of BCCLS Membership Kurt Hadeler reviewed the timeline for the Rochelle Park Library Association (RPLA):

• 2/8/17 – Due to the RPLA non-compliance with BCCLS Bylaws, the BCCLS Executive Board voted to reduce its BCCLS privileges.  If no plan to become compliant was submitted by the Executive Board meeting on April 12, the Executive Board would recommend termination of BCCLS membership to the System Council at a special meeting in May.
• 4/12/17 – Since there was no progress shown to comply with BCCLS Bylaws, the Executive Board voted to recommend termination to the System Council at its next meeting.
• 5/5/17 – At the court hearing, the judge noted that state law required funding at 1/3 mill, BCCLS is a membership organization and that libraries are not required to be a member.  He reversed his original ruling and lifted the injunction that prevented BCCLS from taking the action required by its bylaws. 

Kurt Hadeler advised that there will be a special System Council on May 12, 2017 to vote on the Executive Board's recommendation to terminate Rochelle Park's BCCLS membership.  A 2/3 majority is required to terminate its membership.  This is a situation not taken lightly.  Marie Coughlin stated that although the Executive Board is pleased that BCCLS Bylaws and state law were upheld, no one is happy to vote to terminate a library's membership.  The termination would not occur immediately as BCCLS wants to ensure a smooth transition.  A discussion followed about various issues to consider if membership is terminated.

b)    Office Vacancies

Marie Coughlin advised that there have been some promising interviews for the Systems Administrator and Staff Development & Engagement Coordinator.  The person interviewed for the Cataloging internship is pursuing her MLS, but is not eligible for credit and is willing to volunteer at the BCCLS office for the experience. 

9.   New Business

a)    BCCLS Scholarship Winners.  Scholarships were awarded to 10 applicants who were accepted at an ALA accredited library school who either live or work in a BCCLS community and agree to work in a public library for 2 years after completion of their MLS degree.  The presentations will be made at the System Council meeting in Hasbrouck Heights on June 15, 2017. The winners are Laura Chumas (Lee Memorial Library), Kathryn Ennist (Hillsdale Public Library), Deborah Fagnan (Ridgefield Park Public Library), Genesis Jais (Johnson Public Library), Michelle Jurgensen (Cresskill Public Library), Denise Lester (Haworth Public Library), Marcia Literati (Tenafly Public Library), Ashley Loria (Ridgewood Public Library), Justin Portelli (Maurice M. Pine Public Library) and Tommy Skrnich (Bogota Public Library). 

10.   Membership Hearing 

• Mimi Hui reported that Hasbrouck Heights represented BCCLS at the Bergen County Health Fair held at the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton and that patrons from 31 libraries stopped by to share stories about how they loved their libraries.  She brought library card applications and will forward the completed applications to the appropriate directors.
• Samantha McCoy noted that the BCCLS libraries in Essex County just completed the Essex Read Campaign and will be represented at Essex County Day at Turtleback Zoo on June 4, 2017.
• Daragh O'Connor shared that the Bogota Library was recognized in The Record for the creativity of their indoor tree memorial to honor the memory of their longtime children's librarian, Nikki Spiegel. 

11.   Next Meeting        Special System Council:      Friday, 5/12/17 at 9:30 am – Closter

                                       System Council:                  Thursday, 6/15/17 at 9:30 am – Hasbrouck Heights

                                       Executive Board:                 Wednesday, 8/9/17 at 9:30 am – West Caldwell 

12.   Adjournment   

 dms:  5/13/17