ALTERNATIVE FUNDINGPLAN

Aneliya Kochneva,

Cohort II SUNY at Buffalo, Spring 2013

Complex County Public Library (CCPL)

Dating back to 1962, the CCPL consist of Main Branch(MB), Regional Branch ( RB) and two municipal branches ( MP1 and MP2) . Serving population of 58,914 people.

• MB- Own 2 story building, outdoor storage building, 15,500 sq.f not for public service. Population: 17,642 people.

• RB- Renting ( 2 year lease), commercial area(mall), large parking lot. Population: 8,542 people.

• MP1- own building, jointly used with Health Department. Population: 23,615 people.

• MP2- own building, joint use with public elementary school. Population: 9,115 people.

Current Budget- $2,666,691.93

Compe

nsat

ion

Suppli

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Servic

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Lib M

ater

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Capita

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Oth

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0

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1400000

Current Funding Levels

in dollar amount

The Problem

The CCPL is facing 18% budget

reduction in 2013-14

Now What? There are difficult times ahead of the CCPL system. The impact of 18% budget reduction in the amount of $480,004.55, could be potentially disastrous. Therefore, we have to find a way to follow our strategic plan and deliver the best service and materials to patrons who want it and need it.

However, we cannot pretend there is an easy solution. Sacrifices will have to be made and everyone, patrons and staff alike will be affected by them. We have to strive to minimize the negative impact of this reduction the best way that we can.

Overall Impact of 18% Reduction

Decrease in Service quality

Patron and community

support withdrawal due to

dissatisfaction

Extended processing times and

delays

Employee motivation and

retention issues

Collection, materials,

resources and property-outdated

Our Options To impose the 18% budget reduction we propose 3 separate options:

• Plan A- a short-term aggressive plan to offset the negative impact of the reduction immediately.

• Plan B- a long-term moderate plan to offset the negative impact of the reduction immediately.

• Plan C- a long-term combination plan that involves aggressive and moderate actions.

Plan A - DescriptionPlan A is based on closing RB- it serves the lowest number population and it is expensive to maintain. Poor management was exercised when it was open in the first place, considering the budget for 2011-2012 (i.e renovation, purchase of a lot of of new equipment, barely used, while MP1 is struggling, leasing space in an expensive commercial area, hiring unreasonable amount of employees for community and library size, etc.). Materials, equipment and people will be transferred to other branches that need the help. Sunday hours will be kept, no additional salary cuts will be made. The collection will be affected, but materials from RB will be dispersed between the different branches. Two of the 6 employees left will go to MB, 3 in MP1 and 1 in MP2. The space will be sublet (5% increase).

Plan A- in numbersAction Amount in $ % of budget Explanation

Rent 102000 3.82%Closing Regional Branch

Lib Materials -24% 100438 3.77%Closing one of 4 branches. Also all materials from closed branch could be accommodated in the 3 branches left.

Clerical saries ( 8) 84576 3.17% 8 of 14 people on clerical position will be laid off.

Services -25% 52423 1.97%Accounts like purchased services, collection agency fees, professional fees, temp contract labor, computer database management, maintenance agreements, rent/lease , conference, postage and publicity, employee vacancy ads, equipment/furniture repair can be downsized.

Professional salaries (1)

41643 1.56%1 of 1 person on professional position will be laid off ( manager, 1 year with the system)

Employee benefits ( insurance etc) (9)

38322 1.44%Benefits of all 9 of 15 employees that will be laid off. Includes retirement, health insurance, Medicare, workers compensation and memberships.

Capital Outlay MB-80%

18189 0.68%The resources needed will be relocated from Regional Branch.

Total 300 RB 12028 0.45%Closing Regional Branch

Extra hours 10564 0.40% This will be off set by the 6 available employees from RB, who will be transferred to MB, and MP1.

Other Objects - 50% 7704 0.29% This is one of the accounts that allows flexibility.

Tuition reimbursment 7017 0.26%Unfortunately , very few employees will be able to take advantage of this account, it is necessary sacrifice.

Sublet fees 5% 5100 0.19%The Library has 2 year lease contract and it will sublet the building in this desirable commercial area with 5% revenue.

Total 480004 18.00%

Plan A- in detailAdvantages Disadvantages

• Least number non-professional and professional positions eliminated,

• Sunday hours will stay.• Sublet fees back in the

budget• Positive effect on MB, MP1

and MP2 ( new equipment etc.)

• No pay cuts• 6 of the RB employees will

be positioned in the rest of the libraries.

• A lot of money were spent on opening RB branch in the first place, that will be a loss.

• 8 non-professional and 1 professional employee will be without a job.

• The community that RB was serving will have to use some of the other branches or the outreach services.

Plan B - DescriptionIn this plan the largest burden of the 18% cuts will go to the collection development and services, and that will have unfortunate consequences. A lot of non-professional people will be laid off as well plus one professional ( PR in MB), as I was focusing on cutting whole positions, not giving pay cuts, which historically shows degradation of morale and demotivation of the whole staff. As part of this plan, some of the available space in RB will be sublet as well (large parking lot in a commercial area has a lot of potential, depending on the lease contract) There will be working schedule adjustment- no Sunday or extra hours, no overtime. This will be extremely difficult on all 4 libraries to pull off. All capital outlay will be cut, which will greatly affect the already unfortunate situation of MP1for example.

Plan B- in numbersAction Amount in $

% of budget

Explanation

Lib Materials ( all) -25% 128091 4.80% Unfortunately, the library collection will take a large piece of the cuts.

Clerical salaries ( 9) 95148 3.57% 9 non-professional positions will be cut.

Services ( all) -30% ( - collection agency fees)

68970 2.59%

 Accounts like purchased services, professional fees, temp contract labor, computer database management, maintenance agreements, rent/lease , conference, postage and publicity, employee vacancy ads, equipment/furniture repair can be downsized.

Employee benefits ( insurance etc.) (10)

42580 1.60% Benefits of all 10 employees that will be laid off. Includes retirement, health insurance, Medicare, workers compensation and memberships.

Professional salaries ( 1) 41642 1.56% 1 of 1 person on professional position will be laid off ( PR person from MB)

Capital Outlay All 26782 1.00%  This will be a heavy burden on all of the branches, to compensate for lib. collection.

Supplies (all)-25% 17095 0.64% Steps have to be taken to cut back on office, copier, computer and processing supplies.

Sublet space in RB ($1250 a month)

15000 0.56% The RB building has available space that could be rented., it is in desirable area.

Extra hours 10564 0.40% The libraries will have to cut back all extra hours, reflecting on a new schedule.

Sunday Hours 9933 0.37% The libraries will be closed on Sunday. This automatically will adjust 9 of the 10 position cuts

Other Objects - 60% 9245 0.35% This is one of the accounts that allows flexibility.

Tuition reimbursment 8591 0.32% There will be no tuition reimbursement program available.

Collection agency fees 4026 0.15% This has been completely liquidated, it is subtracted from services before 30% cuts as well.

Employee recognition program

1296 0.05% There will be $138 left. Not much, but something.

Overtime 1041 0.04% Overtime will be cut entirely.

Total 480004 18.00% 

Plan B- in detailAdvantages Disadvantages

• All 4 branches will remain open.

• The parking lot of RB can be used to bring money in the budget.

• The remaining employees will keep their benefits

• There will be no pay cuts.

• The libraries will be understaffed.

• The library schedule will be adjusted ( no Sunday or extra hours, no overtime)

• No tuition reimbursement.• 25% of the collection

development money will be cut. That is a large number.

• 30% of the services money will be cut as well.

• 10 employees will be laid off… AND MORE.

Plan C - DescriptionThe main burden of this plan falls on cutting employment positions ( 12 clerical, 1 professional and outsourcing 2 professional positions). There will be heavy cuts in services, and that will affect the quality of services provided imminently. The whole capital outlay account will be cut, which will have devastating consequences especially for MP1. Sunday hours, extra hours and overtime will be cut as well. The collection of library materials will take only 15% cut, which is lower than the precious options, supplies will be cut with 25% as well. The result will be severely understaffed libraries with demotivated employees this will be the most difficult plan to put into action that will affect the library service a lot more than the previous two options.

Plan C- in numbersAction

Amount in $

% of budget Reason

Clerical salaries ( 12) 137436 5.15%This plan is with the highest number of non-professional staff members laid off.

Lib Materials ( all) -15% 64456 2.42%This option focuses on less cuts on library materials.

Employee benefits ( insurance etc.) (15)

63870 2.40%Benefits of 13 employees that will be laid off, and 2 employees with outsourced jobs. Includes retirement, health insurance, Medicare, workers compensation and memberships

Services ( all) -30% 45980 1.72% Accounts like purchased services, collection agency fees, professional fees, temp contract labor, computer database management, maintenance agreements, rent/lease , conference, postage and publicity, employee vacancy ads, equipment/furniture repair can be downsized.

Professional salaries ( 1) 41642 1.56%1 of 1 person on professional position will be laid off ( PR person from MB)

Outsorce professional jobs (2)- 50%

41642 1.56%2 of 2 staff members who will have their jobs outsourced- Bookkeeper and Network System’s Manager.

Capital Outlay All 26782 1.00%This will be a heavy burden on all of the branches, to compensate for less cuts in lib. collection.

Supplies (all)-25% 17095 0.64%Steps have to be taken to cut back on office, copier, computer and processing supplies

Extra hours 10857 0.41%The libraries will have to cut back all extra hours, reflecting in a new schedule

Sunday Hours 9933 0.37%The libraries will be closed on Sunday. This automatically will compensate 9 of the 13 non-professional position cuts

Other Objects - 60% 9245 0.35%This is one account that allows flexibility

Tuition reimbursment 8591 0.32%There will be no tuition reimbursment program available.

Employee recognition program

1434 0.05%There will be no funds in this account

Overtime 1041 0.04%Overtime will be cut entirely.

Total 480004 18.00% 

Plan C- in detailAdvantages Disadvantages

• All 4 branches will remain open.

• Collection development cuts will be only 15%.

• The remaining employees will keep their benefits.

• There will be no pay cuts.

• The highest numbers of positions will be eliminated- 15, 3 of which are professional.

• Services will be cut 30%.• No money in Capital Outlay

account.• No Sunday& extra hours or

overtime. • No tuition reimbursement or

employee recognition program… AND MORE.

Revenue Resource Options Rental Income ( Both MB and RB have available

space not used by the library) Creating new fees- for special database access,

renting equipment and premises, programming etc. Increasing existing fees- raising late fees, ILL penalty

fee, computer use etc. Organizing fundraisers- by the FL or the library

itself, it can be with or without the involvement of local businesses.

Corporate funding or partnership- reach out and create relationships with local businesses.

Revenue Resource Options- Cont’d Volunteers- this can help offset the effects of cutting

employment positions. If properly trained, 22 volunteers can help substitute 8-10 non-professional employees and 2 pages.

Tax Increase- community consists of young, working families with children, undeveloped area available, good conditions for raising taxes.

Fundraisers- a good opportunity to rise awareness within the community

Paid programming ( camps) for children- the library’s goals are to serve the needs of children, the community is young and developing. That is an excellent opportunity to raise money and provide community service at the same time.

Resource Options – in detailOptions Source Estimate

s in $Activities

Rental income

Business, professional organizations (if building is used), community (if parking lot)

5,000 - 200,000 per year

Explore lease contract of RB and options in MB for renting out or subletting parts of the properties.

Creating new fees

Community 20-30,000 per year

Explore opportunities to charge for special database use, renting conference rooms etc.

Increasing existing fees

Community 10-15,000 per year

Increase taxes for circulations, program attendance public computer use etc.

Resource Options in detail - Cont’d IIOptions Source Estimate

s in $Activities

Corporate funding/partnership

Local businesses

25 000 -75,000 per year

Through support seeking activities, like providing opportunities for the local businesses ( BBQ in RB for example) for advertisement, job fairs, employee training etc.

Paid programming (or camps) for children

Community, local businesses

100,000-250,000

Organize Summer ( or other) camps, workshops, reach out to volunteers.

Volunteers Community

130,000 per year

Reach out to community, raise awareness, especially high school children, organize training.

Resource Options in detail - Cont’dOptions Source Estimates

in $Activities

Fundraisers Community, local businesses, organizations

100,000-150,000 per year

Organize fundraisers to raise the community awareness of the library’s difficult situation.

Tax increase 2%

Community, local business Local government

75, 000- 100,000 ( of more, depends on the current tax rate)

Reach out to local government and lobby for Business tax collection increase and property tax increase. File appropriate paperwork.

Disclaimer*

*All data used in this assignment is fictitious. Therefore, the arguments and solutions are based on assumptions if data in regards to related problems or questions was not provided. The proposed plans are for exercise and demonstration purposes only. In reality a combination of all of the revenue resources as well as budget reduction options will be used and that will reflect in different outcome.

City of Madison (2013) Capital Budget Capital Improvement Program.

Course Readings LIS 518 Spring 2013.

Loessner, G. (1999). Estimating Local Financial Support for Public

Libraries: A Tool to Facilitate Benchmarking of Best Practices Among

Counties in the States. Public Productivity and Management Review.

23(1), 24-39

Miami-Dade County Public Library (2012) FY 2012-13 Proposed

Budgets and Multi-Year Capital Plan. Course Readings LIS 518

Spring 2013.

Robbins, J. & Zweizig, D. (1992) Keeping the books. Public Library

Financial Practices. Highsmith Press, Fort Atkinson, WI pp. 373-403

References

White, L. (2013) Complex County Public Library. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

White, L. (2013) Complex County Public Library Budget. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

White, L.(2013) Complex County Public Library Strategic Plan: 2001-2014. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

White, L. (2013) Complex County Public Library: Vision, Mission, & Goals. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

White, L. (2013) Consensus value estimate sheet for CCPL services and outputs. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

White, L. (2013) Performance data. Assignment 5 additional documents packet.

References Cont’d

Acknowledgements

All images used in this presentation unless otherwise specified are acquired through Wikimedia Commons

website (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images)