Baker Free Library
Board of Trustees Meeting
 October 10, 2007
 Approved Minutes

  1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:50 pm. Present at the meeting were Elizabeth Foy, Colleen Haggerty, Susan Hatem, Tom Ives, Regan Mack and Library Director Linda Kling.
  2. Minutes: Linda noted that in Section 4.d., the spelling of Jenny’s last name should be "Ericsson" and proposed rewording the second full sentence in that section to read: ‘In addition, the TNT summer program for "Teens and Tweens" which included a book review activity designed by Celeste and Jen had 33 participants, produced a useful scrapbook of "Summer Picks" book suggestions, and received great feedback from kids and parents.’ Tom made a motion to approve the minutes of the Board of Trustees’ meeting of September 12, 2007 with the above changes, Colleen seconded it, and the motion passed 5-0.
  3. Treasurer’s Reports:
    1. Tom presented the Monthly Budget Report for the month of September. Upon completion of 25% of the budget period, the library had spent 23.96% of its budget. Linda noted that the expenditure of $1,614.88 under New Equipment was for a replacement computer and a pressure washer. Elizabeth asked who maintains the computers and Linda said she handles most problems, with volunteer assistance from Stu Hale, a former Bow resident. When needed, she also calls on John Corbett of Henniker. Colleen made a motion to accept the report, Regan seconded the motion and the motion passed 5-0.
    2. Tom presented the report on the Special Expenditures Account for the month of September 2007. The closing balance in the Nonprofit NOW account was $18,747.67. After correction of an addition error noted by Colleen, the closing balance in the RSA Account was $ 8,288.31 for a total in both accounts of $27,035.98. Colleen moved to accept the report as corrected, Susan seconded it, and the motion passed 5-0.
    3. Investment: Tom made a motion to put $15,000 of the Special Expenditures Account into three- and six-month CDs with better rates of return than we are currently receiving. The trustees discussed options and asked Tom to follow up. Regan seconded Tom’s motion, and the motion passed 5 – 0. Tom will also update the Merrimack County Savings Bank signature cards.
  4. Director’s Report:
    1. Policy Manual: Linda reported receiving an email back from Attorney Melissa Martin regarding her rates for reviewing our policy manual. Regan made a motion to authorize Linda to ask Attorney Martin for a preliminary review of the manual and a time estimate prior to proceeding. Susan seconded the motion and it passed 5 – 0.
    2. Budget Process: Town finance director sent out guidelines and a meeting schedule for preparation of the town and library budgets. Tom and Elizabeth agreed to work with Linda as a subcommittee to draft the budget. We discussed the need to train another board member to assist with or take over treasurer duties.
    3. Payroll issues: Linda suggested making a correction to the process of paying employees due to the fact that under the current system, employees are paid every two weeks, one week that they have already worked and one in advance. As the number of employees on the staff has grown and the number of hours worked fluctuates, this is increasingly difficult to do. After discussion with Abe and with the other employees, Linda proposes withholding one day’s pay per pay period until the payroll is two weeks in arrears rather than one in advance. Tom moved to start the making the change in January 1, 2008, Susan seconded the motion, and it passed 5-0. There was also discussion about the payroll and the BFL tax identification number as separate from those of the town.
  5. Old Business:
    1. Granite lion: Nothing to report.
    2. Utility Pole: Linda is trying to reach Verizon to inquire about the pole’s placement.
  6. New Business:
    1. Strategic Plan: We will discuss updating the BFL five-year plan at the next meeting.
    2. Privacy question: Elizabeth brought up a question about the Patriot Act in relation to circulation logs. She will bring more information to the next meeting.
    3. Joint Loss Management Committee: Linda handed out copies of the minutes of this committee’s meeting on September 25th and of the Safety and Health Manual.
  7. Correspondence: The Board received a thank you card from Eric Anderson.
  8. Next Trustee Meetings: November 14 and Dec. 12, and January 9 at 6:45 pm.
  9. Adjournment: Tom made a motion to adjourn, Regan seconded it and the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan Hatem

Secretary