Public Library Board January 19

The Boone County Public Library Board (the Board) January meeting held at the Library’s Florence branch.

Board Member Rich made a motion to add a line item to the bottom of the agenda, which was apparently left off, to discuss requiring items that will be on the next month’s meeting agenda so Board members have time to prepare.

Public Comment
Joe reiterated his request from last month that the three Ps be present: Prayer, Pledge and Podium. There was apparently an informational meeting held at the Boone County Public Library (BCPL) last Saturday with various organizations (about 127 attendees) regarding homelessness, what homelessness looks like, etc. Joe conceded most of that issue at the Florence branch is resolved. The Board explained the library is a public place and staff can’t ask patrons why they’re there. There are no limits as to how long patrons remain at the library branch; the only time limitations are on computers and study rooms. However, the Florence branch manager confirmed that if a patron has been in the library for a very long time, the person will be approached to see if he/she needs assistance. 

Joe argued again for Sunday afternoon hours. Executive Director Carrie Herrmann (CH) confirmed a survey was sent to BCPL patrons regarding overall library hours. Responses have been received and collected but still need review and aren’t ready for presentation to the Board. The survey was sent via social media and via the electronic letter the BCPL sends to all BCPL patrons. Once all results have been collated and analyzed, any change in library hours will not become effective until the beginning of BCPL’s next fiscal year, July 1, 2026.

Director’s Report
CH asked for grace in meeting Board deadlines as she is also acting as the interim Business Services Administrator; they are having problems locating a replacement for that position. She confirmed no one internally is qualified for this position. 

CH advised she did have a conversation with the Consumer Protection Division of the State Attorney General’s office regarding the high price libraries pay for E-books and other electronic materials. She stated the AG office expressed much interest in looking into this further.

The Florence branch is being certified as a Kentucky Career Access Center and will be ready to operate as such in March. 

CH attended a workshop with Gov Tech and may put together a priority-based budget for the 2027 fiscal year.

CH’s monthly comparison report for last month compared to the same month last fiscal year reflects that computer usage and programs are up from last year. There were 595 programs held so far serving 46,000 attendees. The benchmark staff uses relative to program costs is no more than $6.25 per attendee and all programs fell within that internal benchmark. 

Board Member Deborah Dutton-Lambert (DDL) suggested a nominal fee for the concerts but got a lot of pushback because taxpayers already pay for library services. DDL contends not every library sponsors concerts and these shouldn’t be deemed “essential” services. It was decided this issue will be a discussion for the fiscal year 2027 budget review, as these programs are a line item in the budget. 

A lengthy discussion initiated by Rich focused on identification of “stale” books and the opportunity to purge them and their shelves, allowing branches more space for study rooms, as that seems to be a priority. Rich thinks the branches have as many as 100,000 “stale” books that have not circulated in some time and should be purged. It was determined that a reasonable goal is to have the spaces cleared and study rooms constructed by September 30. Board Member Reisz argued that Rich’s concerns about stale books are operational, not strategic, and therefore under CH’s purview rather than the Board itself. This dispute got a little heated and will be added as an agenda item to discuss further.

Accountant’s Report
Reports were submitted for November and December. The BCPL received $3.7 million in tax revenues in the month of November. Cash as of the end of 12/31/25 was upwards of $16 million in fixed assets and $76,689,000 in total assets with about $600,000 in liabilities. 

Reisz expressed concern at the delay in withdrawing from the Truist account. She emphasized the need to work on getting a local bank (she mentioned Fifth Third, Stockyards and Heritage banks) and moving the funds ASAP. Rich wanted to know how the auditor and/or the Board missed the fact that the Truist account contained junk bonds, which are illegal for the library to hold. Per the accountant, Truist actually held junk bonds as far back as 2021. Rich again asked how this was missed. Reisz recommended investing only in non-brokerage accounts from this point forward. An agenda item will be added to review the BCPL investment policy and add controls on determining the underlying investments before the BCPL will choose the investment vehicle. The Board was also adamant that it wanted no more time wasted in divesting from Truist. There is currently $2 million-plus in CDs with Truist. It was decided those can remain at Truist until they mature. 

Business
A draft of the new Risk Management Policy was provided to the Board for initial review; it is still not complete, and CH solicited recommendations/suggestions from the Board on items such as facility risk, operational risk and personnel risk. All comments/suggestions will be provided by the Board and Ex-Officio Member Chet Hand by January 26. A fuller discussion will be scheduled for the March meeting.

Three of the four architectural firms asked to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to revamp the Florence branch responded. No determination has been made as to whether this means a new building, expansion of the existing building or repurposing a vacant existing building. This issue will entail further discussion by the Board.

The Board members submitted self-assessments as an aggregate of the existing skills that Board members believe are priorities for any new Board trustee. The same deadline for trustee applications applies as last year. There will be a mandatory February 2 informational meeting conducted by CH and the final deadline for application submission is February 10. CH confirmed she has received just one application so far (which appears to be from existing Board member Dr. Emily Meyers). 

The mid-year budget update was presented by CH. A better insurance premium rate was negotiated by HR. CH designated the following priorities for the remainder of the fiscal year: collections, programming and $500 for traveling exhibits. Overall, it’s about a $500,000 increase in spending. Rich asked why CH deemed it necessary to spend this money just because revenue is up; why change the budget target in the middle of the year, essentially saying, “Hey, here’s extra money, how can we spend it?” He also expressed concern that next year’s budget is actually compared to the mid-year budget versus the original budget. There was pushback from other Board members such as DDL and Reisz. Ultimately, the Board voted on the mid-year budget as is, and CH will add an agenda item for further discussion on next fiscal year’s budget. Rich was the lone no vote on the mid-year budget as presented.

Meeting was adjourned at 6:36 p.m.