McLean County Times

Carlock Public Library District Board met March 18.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

President, Beth Wagner, called the meeting to order at 6:31pm. Board members present were David Garrison, Nick Birky, and Laura Stephenson. Kevin Moore arrived at 6:37. Dawn Neblock, and Mike Miller were absent. Library Director Christie Lau was in attendance. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Public Comment:

● There was no public comment

Correspondence:

● There was no correspondence

Approval of Minutes

● Regular Board Meeting from February 2025 - approved as read.

Reports

● Library Director:

○ February monthly report - February was a good month. Circulation is holding steady. The story time program brought in the most participants, as is typical. The elementary school visits continued. A number of administrative tasks as well as projects were completed in February.

○ Required Training - All board members and employees must complete sexual harassment prevention training annually. Additionally, there are 4 members of the board who need to complete the open meetings act training and one member of the board must complete the FOIA training.

○ Statement of Economic Interest - All board members should complete this as soon as possible. There is a date in May that this is due by.

● President:

○ April 1 Consolidated Election - We have two board member seats up for re-election on the ballot. There are two unexpired terms (one four year and one two year) that have no candidates. We will need to appoint two people for these positions.

● Secretary: No report

● Finance Committee: No report

● Policy Committee: No report

Financial Reports:

● Financial Statements February 2025: The current checking account balance is just over $55,000. This includes the corporate general fund being at $7,900. Laura made a motion to bring $36,000 over from the working cash fund to the corporate general fund inorder to bridge the gap between now and when the remainder of the tax funds arrive. Nick seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. In February, just over $10,000 was spent which is lower than the average of $12,000. Insurance for the year was paid in February as well. In September, the last payment of the current 5 year building loan cycle will be paid. The hope is to have the new rate relatively soon. However, the bank said to expect that around June or July.

Old Business:

● FY2026 Preliminary Budget - Christie put together a flow chart that shows generally where the income for the library comes from as well as the expenses. The special reserve fund is for monies that are left at the end of the year that cannot be rolled over. The past two years, the special reserve fund has decreased as it has been used to pay the construction loan. There are currently openings at the library, but so far there are no applicants. With the increase in minimum wage, it is difficult to hire quality employees at the wage that the library currently offers. Without qualified candidates, it is difficult to continue to offer the number of programs that are currently offered by the library.

New Business:

● No new business

Upcoming meetings:

● Next regular meeting: April 15, 2025 at 6:30pm

● Next finance committee meeting: April 3, 2025 at 6:30pm

Dave made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Laura seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:54pm.

https://www.carlocklibrary.com/files/d319f88c7/3_18_25.pdf