MINUTES

NOBLE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Sept. 14, 2005

In attendance: Sue Koronowski, Dennis Kelley, Barbara LaChance, Mary Rose Quinn, Doug Rendell, Linda Hummel-Shea, Elisabeth Tully, Deborah Abraham, Ron Gagnon

Minutes

Doug Rendell moved to accept the minutes for May and June. Dennis Kelley seconded and it passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

Dennis Kelley moved to accept the Treasurer’s report. Mary Rose Quinn seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Ron Gagnon discussed the report and proposed transferring $11,893.66 to the capital account to NOBLE’s share of telecomm grant costs. Dennis Kelley made the motion to transfer the funds, Doug Rendell seconded and it was voted unanimously. The Danvers Savings Bank has instituted a new check system whereby signature verification can be instituted for a fee of $25.00 per month. Our auditor thought it a good protection for NOBLE.

FY 2007 Budget

Ron presented the key points in the proposed FY2007 budget and took questions.

Dennis Kelley asked if we had a surplus this year. Ron pointed out $67,500 in the base part of budget and $21,890 in the per user part. Much of this is due to billings by Verizon that continue to be below the expected amount. We have notified Verizon of this and have the necessary paper trail. Under the state contract, Verizon cannot go more than two months backwards to collect the difference. Dennis suggested if we are charged, we could take it from the prior year’s surplus.

Ron pointed out the following with regard to the base portion of the budget.

Ø Wages are increased at about 3%. An additional step has been added for three people who are at the top of their grade.

Ø Insurance has been difficult as there has been some consolidation in this business in Massachusetts. Kemper, our old carrier, went out of business. Our agent has found replacements but our insurance is split by the kinds of coverages.

Ø The copier machine is not addressed in this budget. The machine is wearing out and Ron plans to present a proposal at a future meeting as to whether we should lease or buy a new one.

Ø The IRS has made a mid-year alteration to the mileage reimbursement rate, now $.485 per mile for at least the remainder of 2005, up from $.405 per mile.

Ø Occupancy – our rent will gone down with our new lease but common charges are up due to energy costs.

Ø Utilities are likely to increase this year, even though we have more efficient equipment due to rate increases.

Ø Data access – OCLC usage is going up. In FY2006 we carried over a credit from prior years.

Ø Federated searching – We have a grant that will pay the cost for 2006 but for 2007 we need to include it in the budget. After some discussion it was decided to cut this figure to $20,000 since the NOBLE needs to pick up the cost from Jan – June only.

Ø Record enhancement is something we need to give greater attention, both authority control and contents notes. Unlike other networks, we have done our own. Outsourcing is costly and we are looking for some middle ground.

Ø Equipment – We need to upgrade our Web and mail servers. Both are 1999 models and need replacement. Ron recommended approaching local foundations for some support of this cost.

Ø Capital Contribution was discussed briefly but a decision on it was put off until the end of the consideration of the budget.

Ø Reimbursements – are expected to be similar to the prior year.

Per Staff User portion

Ø Telecomm Maintenance is going up due to new and more complex equipment.

Ø Internet provider – Ron is looking into an alternative at a lower cost. The University of Massachusetts is a possibility. Linda commented that the system has been working well.

Subsidies expected for this section of the budget were outlined. The amount we receive this year from the MBLC is approximately double last year and is held over to the FY2007 budget.

Ron presented two versions. One narrowed the range more than the other. After some discussion, it was decided to cut the following amounts:

$11,000 from servers

$20,000 from Federated Searching

$ 500 from computer supplies.

This may result in a decrease in assessment. Ron did a quick change on the spreadsheet and determined that this would indeed be the case. There was a discussion about the wisdom of a slightly lower assessment and how this might be handled during the upcoming budget making process by member libraries. Deb Abraham moved to ask Ron to work with the numbers so that the budget will be level funded for all except libraries that are making changes in their number of simultaneous staff users. The motion was seconded by Barbara LaChance and it was passed unanimously.

Web Editing Position

New in the FY2005 menu of services is the added-cost option for NOBLE to edit the websites of member libraries, to be performed on an hourly cost basis. Ron reported the original concept was for work of any significance to be performed by an independent contractor approved and arranged by NOBLE, with the per hour cost to be divided 20% for NOBLE and 80% for the contractor, NOBLE doing the billing as priced in the Salem bid. In consulting with our auditor, we learned that Massachusetts has very limiting independent contractor regulations which we cannot meet, in particular that the work not be part of the normal work of the organization and that the contractor basically have an established business. While the concept and rate are still valid and libraries have expressed interest in the service, the person doing the work will need to be a part-time employee of NOBLE. A draft job description was presented by Ron and the creation of the web editing position was moved by Doug Rendell and seconded by Dennis Kelley and was approved by unanimous vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Deborah Abraham

Secretary Pro Tem