The Springfield-Greene County Library District Board of Trustees has approved a $13.9 million budget for fiscal 2013. The budget includes a facility upgrade for the Library Center and employee raises that would partially mitigate increasing health insurance costs.
The budget, approved during the nine-member board's June meeting, took effect July 1. The fiscal 2013 budget equates to an increase of roughly 11 percent from the fiscal 2012 budget of $12.5 million, according to Regina Greer Cooper, Springfield-Greene County Library District executive director.
The budget includes $500,000 to replace the Library Center roof, which was part of the original structure, a Payless Cashways store built in 1995. Cooper said library staff is compiling specifications and would start the bid process well before spring, when the project is expected to begin.
"Tax checks start coming in December, so we hold off on large projects like that until the second half of the fiscal year," Cooper said, noting the roof replacement likely would take about four weeks.
The budgeted employee raises partially offset a budgeted health insurance cost increase of 15 percent, Cooper said. She said employee compensation increases via an 11-step process. Those climbing the steps would receive 1 percent increases, while those who have topped off would receive 3 percent raises. Personnel costs make up 58 percent of the library's budget.
"We just feel like our staff are our best assets. We want to do things for them when we can, especially since the last three years their raises have not been very good," Cooper said.
"This year because we paid the bond on the building of the Library Center, it freed up a little more money to do better raises for the staff," she added, noting the district finished paying off the more than $350,000 bond at the end of April.
The budget for books, electronic books and magazines returned closer to pre-recession levels, with 18.5 percent of the total operating budget, said library spokeswoman Kathleen O'Dell. She said the budget fell to 16.5 percent from 20 percent after the economic downturn hit.
According to a news release, the budget also projects a 2.5 percent increase in tax revenue, and it has a $50,000 contingency fund for unexpected expenses.
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