The Niles Public Library Board of Trustees agreed to add a last minute $75,000 increase to salary expenditures in its approved budget for fiscal year 2016 following a request by the district’s director.
The board voted 6-1 Wednesday night to approve a budget including roughly $6.3 million in expected revenue and nearly $6.5 million in expenditures.
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Niles Library Director Susan Lempke initially asked the board to approve an additional $150,000 to budgeted salary expenditures in anticipation of the opening next month of a new digital media lab and makers space equipped with computers loaded with Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator software, a 3-D printer, laser cutter, green screen and video recording equipment, among other features.
Lempke said she had no current plans to hire any additional staff, but wanted the funds budgeted in case she felt it was necessary down the line.
Greg Pritz, business manager for the district, said there will likely be strong demand for the space and all the equipment it has to offer when it officially opens to the public on Sept. 19.
“The problem is that a lot of these maker things involve high heat or cutting things,” he said. “You just don’t really want to turn it over to your patrons and say, ‘OK, go at it,’ because you have this risk of injury.”
Trustee Carolyn Drblik asked for an assurance from Lempke that she’d first check to make sure that all current staff was utilizing their time and participating in job sharing in the most efficient manner possible before any new employees were brought on board.
As part of a compromise suggested by President Linda Ryan, the trustees voted to approve only half of Lempke’s requested $150,000 increase. Lempke promised to discuss staffing issues with trustees before any new hires are made.
The approved budget also includes a 3 percent annual raise for the district’s employees. At the board’s July meeting, trustees agreed to increase the budgeted amount for raises from 2.4 percent to 3 percent.
In an interview following Wednesday night’s meeting, Pritz said the change amounts to about a $50,000 increase between the tentative budget brought before the board for approval last month and the one approved this week. But, he said, not all library employees are guaranteed to receive a 3 percent raise. He said those who perform above average may receive more and those who perform below average may receive less. Lempke, Pritz said, will have the final say when it comes to employee raises.
The total amount of revenue included in the approved budget represents about a 3 percent decrease over the prior year’s projected actual revenue, while spending accounts for a roughly 15 percent jump over last year’s actual estimated expenditures.
During a board meeting in July, Pritz said the district was running a surplus of about $900,000 because last year’s revenues were that much greater than actual expenditures.
The approved budget also includes nearly $500,000 in capital expenses related to updating the district’s desktop computers, in addition to fire and security upgrades and the purchase of a new library van to make deliveries to homebound patrons and schools, Pritz said. Last year, he said, the district only spent about $100,000 on capital items.
Trustee Danette Matyas was the sole board member to vote against the budget.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.