After holding a public hearing at its regular meeting June 10, the Belleville Area District Library Board unanimously approved a budget that included $2,946,300 in expected revenues, $2,814,838 in expenditures, and a $6,313,310 fund balance at the end of the fiscal year.
The library’s fiscal year is July 1 to June 30.
The board also approved the amended budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year and the fund balance allocation required by GASB 54. The GASB 54 requirment is to authorize an allocation from funds collected in December 2024 to spend in the second half of 2025, to reconcile the difference in fiscal years.
Secretary Alma Hughes-Grubbs was the only board member absent and excused from the meeting.
In other business at the one-hour-and-14-minute meeting, the board:
• Learned the first-ever staff art show is on display for a month, showing the talents of staff members and to fill in a gap in the scheduled art displays for the year;
• Was informed a tortoise has taken up residence at the children’s reference room desk. The baby tortoise is just a few months old and can live to be 50 years old. The tortoise was loaned by a reptile rescue group and it is up for adoption. A contest is being held to name the tortoise and some of the finalists are: Shelly, Tank, and Tortolini;
• Heard library director Mary Jo Suchy report Otis Elevator is performing the 5-year maintenance and testing of the elevator to pass the state inspection. Otis brought a door lock monitoring proposal to their attention in response to a new State of Michigan code. The proposal costs $27,000 and Suchy is checking into the details and whether the library elevator qualifies to comply with that new code;
• Was informed that Wayne County has been alerted to the library’s intention to apply future penal fine revenue to the amount it owes. A written waiver and release proposal was written by the library’s attorney and given to the county and a counter proposal had been received and is being reviewed;
• Learned signing up began June 16 for the library’s summer reading incentive programs set for June and July. This year’s theme is “Color Our World” and there are giant crayons in the children’s area. Suchy said it is imperative that children read during the summer months so they do not lose all of the reading skills they learned during the school year;
• Was informed the library will host two programs in honor of Juneteenth. “History Trivia Night: African American History Edition” took place June 12 and “Juneteenth: What Happened June 19, 1865” will take place at 6:30 p.m., June 23; and
• Got introduced to Deb Green who retired as library director 10 years ago in May. She was passing by the meeting and dropped by to talk.
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