MEMORANDUM 05-112

From: Library Advisory Board

To: Homer Mayor and City Council Members

Date: June 7, 2005

Subject: Library Operating Budget

With the successful completion of the New Library Project’s capital campaign and the beginning of site work at the new location, public attention has turned to the cost of operating and maintaining this new facility. Anticipating these concerns, the Library Advisory Board has been discussing the sustainability of the new building and its operating costs since August of 2003 when the Professional Planning, Architectural, and Engineering Services for the new Homer Public Library were awarded to ECI/Hyer, Inc.

Since that time, the Library Advisory Board has provided guidance to the architects and advised the City Council on concrete steps to reduce the operating budget for the new library. These recommendations include:

1) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification (Silver level)

The new library will make use of local and recycled building materials, is designed to consume less energy and water, and will promote health and productivity in the work place through the use of natural light and good ventilation, and avoidance of toxic paints and adhesives. This step brought in $175,000 in planning grants during the capital campaign and will result in the first community-based LEED certified building in Alaska. By considering how to use water, energy, materials and land more efficiently during the design phase, the new library will be less expensive to operate and maintain. An analysis of projected costs shows a savings of more than $830,000 for the Homer Library over the first 20 years of operation.

2) Interior Design Features

The new building is designed to maximize staff productivity by considering lines of sight, improving staff work areas, and providing volunteer work space. The building is situated on the site to maximize the benefits of a one-story structure to eliminate the need for a costly elevator ($100,000 to install plus annual maintenance) and additional staff for the second story.

3) Increasing Fines and Fees

In June of 2004, the Library Advisory Board recommended approval of a new fee schedule for 2005 which increased fees in more than 10 categories. The present library software does not allow tracking of individual revenues for each fee type so a comparison of fees between years is not readily available. (Raising fees may act as a deterrent for overdue books and may not result in increased revenues.)

4) Kenai Peninsula Borough contributions

In March of 2004, the Library Advisory Board provided input to the KPB Comprehensive Plan and recommended that the Kenai Peninsula Borough recognize the significant value of municipal library services to borough residents and considers contributing to library costs on a per capita basis, as the Mat-Su Borough does with its city libraries.

In addition to these recommendations, the Library Advisory Board and its committees, upon request from the Mayor and City Manager, mobilized volunteers to assist in the effort to educate city residents about the need for increased tax revenue due to the lack of State funding. Library supporters provided assistance through Letters to the Editor, phone calls, newspaper ads and conversations with friends and neighbors and were an important part of the success of the voter’s approval of an increase in sales tax. This effort is expected to bring in $1.2 million to the City’s General Fund.

Based on current information, the estimated operating budget for the new Homer Library by the year 2009 will be $550,000/year, an increase of 55% over current costs, for a building five times as large.

Regular meetings of the Library Advisory Board in August and September of each year are known as budget meetings (LAB Bylaws, Article III, Section 4). The LAB will continue its discussion of new revenue generating proposals, which include:

1) coffee kiosk

2) leasing space for private events

3) Kenai Peninsula Borough contributions

4) Library service area

5) Seeking gifts to the library

Based on these discussions and input from the public and Library staff, the Library Advisory Board will provide recommendations to the City of Homer. Our intent is to ensure an excellent level and quality of services for the benefit of the entire community when the new library opens. The Library Advisory Board looks forward to working with the City Council and staff, Homer and Borough residents, and the Friends of the Homer Library to develop a sustainable funding plan for the operation of the new building.