This report encompasses the library fi scal year July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022 In November 2016, voters of Sonoma County approved Measure Y, a oneeighth of a cent sales tax to support the Sonoma County Library. e ordinance stipulated that the Library Commission establish a citizen oversight committee to annually review expenditures and appropriations of the tax revenues to ensure that all such revenue is spent or appropriated for purposes and uses set forth in the expenditure plan of Measure Y. e revenues shall be used only to supplement existing revenues collected for the library and shall not be used to supplant existing library funding.
is report from the Measure Y Oversight Committee examines the expenditures to ensure that they conform to the spirit and letter of the ordinance. Based on the expenditure plan of the Measure Y ordinance, the additional sales tax revenues should be used only for the following purposes:
• Support library collections, educational programs, and classes for Sonoma County’s pre-school and school-age children as well as adults and seniors
• Improve access to local branch libraries
• Maintain aging library facilities
e past two plus years have been challenging for the library because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although operating hours have now been restored, operations are still not back to pre-pandemic conditions as tra c inside the
libraries has not reached prior levels and there are fewer programs. More people are getting library services via the internet in addition to in person visits.
INTRODUCTION 1
2021/2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Supporting Library Programs, Collections And Services
Collection, Events/Programs:
• $1.3m in materials
• Summer Reading Program
• Adult/Juvenile Programs
• Literacy Lunch at the Library
• Family Concert
Access to Libraries:
• Library extended hours close to prepandemic levels in January 2022 • BiblioBox smart locker installed at Sonoma Valley Library: is allows patrons of the library to pick up library materials on their own time with the BiblioBox by placing holds online at sonomalibrary.org and then wait for noti
cation that your holds are available, then pick
up at the fully automated, 24/7 BiblioBox.
• e resumption of in-branch programming post-pandemic • BiblioBus, a mobile library branch. e primary goal of the BiblioBus is to extend
library services outside
the walls of the library.
Its focus is to provide
services to areas that have
di
culty accessing library
services or that have been
identi
ed as high need
such as senior centers,
low-income housing
complexes and schools.
2 2021 /2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
3 Technology:
• Video Magni
ers installed in all branches, which provide accessible reading opportunities for people with visual disabilities.
• Accessible public computers in each branch, with specialized hardware and so
ware for accessing library resources.
• SonomaFiConnect debuts. is is a mobile networking kit, which has the potential to provide up to 80 users with WiFi for 5 hours on a single battery charge.
• SonomaFi - Began replacement of all WiFi hotspots lost during the pandemic.
Maintaining Facilities:
• New furniture for Central Library installed
• Roseland Regional Library temporary library opened in September 2021 • Furnishing for several branches
• Facilities Master
Plan Assessment
• Guerneville refresh
completed
• Sonoma County Archives
relocated from Los Guilicos
to the Farm Bureau building
at Westwind
• e completion of the Reimagining Plan
• Deployment of external WiFi at all branches
• Began migrating sta from desktop computer workstations to laptops and docks
• Network upgrades at Rincon Valley, Roseland, Sebastopol and Sonoma Valley, increasing their usable bandwidth.
• Completed a long-term network project enabling 10 times the available network bandwidth at all branches
2021/2022 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 4
e following comments apply to the
nancial summary:
• e
gures are based on
nancial reports from the library as the
Measure Y Committee does not audit the
gures.
• e income
gures include only sales tax revenues and interest income, and do not include unrealized gains and losses or other minor items. • Services and Supplies in this report di er from standard library nancial
reports because materials and events/programs are reported separately. • Events/programs are contained within the ‘special departmental expenses’ account and are not budgeted separately. ose expenses are reported separately in this report because they are explicitly mentioned in Measure Y.
• e
gures for FY19-20 and FY20-21 re ect changes from last year’s report due to audit adjustments. Figures for FY21-22 have not yet been audited and are subject to change.
Figure 1 Measure Y revenues
Expenditures were less than planned with the result of another signifi cant surplus, as shown in Table 1.
Salaries and benefi ts are the largest expenditure.
ose expenditures were
well under budget because they were budgeted too high and there was some attrition. Services and supplies were under budget because utilities and supplies were budgeted too high and there were supply chain issues.
Capital expenses were considerably under budget. Some projects were delayed because of approvals for aspects of refurbishments. e major
capital expenses were:
• Roseland temporary location preparation/furnishing
• Petaluma refresh (planning stages)
• Guerneville refresh (completed)
• Healdsburg refresh (planning stages)
• BiblioBus
• Computer/network equipment
• Facilities Master Plan
5 2021/2022 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Table 1
6 2021/2022 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Measure Y accounted for 98.8% of all capital spending, as shown in Table 2. e
committee does not believe that conforms to the language or the intent of Measure Y.
Table 2
7 2021/2022 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
Since the inception of Measure Y, the sales tax has resulted in spending over $49 million on the libraries, as shown in Table 3.
e library maintains reserves for expected expenses,
which was not shown in previous reports.
at has been included this year to provide
a more accurate view of available funds. Details on the committed funds are shown in Table 4. In addition, there were other adjustments which resulted in available funds of approximately $8 million.
e accumulated funds are available for future spending.
Table 3
Table 4
8 Figure 2
Measure Y has had a signi cant impact on total spending for the library, as shown in Figure 2. 2021/2022 FINANCIAL SUMMARY
2021/2022 CONCLUSIONS
e Measure Y Committee consists of members selected by the library commissioners to oversee how revenues and expenditures of the Sonoma County library system are used in relation to the Measure Y ordinance.
During the fi scal year of 2021-2022, the library saw sales tax revenue exceed the budget while expenditures were under budgeted, producing an excess of revenues over expenses of $3,948,328.
ere is an accumulated excess
of approximately $8 million that is available for future spending. Due to constant emergencies, such as fi res and the current pandemic, sales tax forecasting has been diffi cult. A conservative approach in spending and delays in projects are some of the reasons for the surplus.
e committee commends the commission for the adoption of the Measure Y Spending Allocations Guidelines, as that will eliminate some of the issues the committee has faced in the past.
Moving forward, we have the following recommendations:
•
e library system can provide more services to patrons in the form of events and more programming, such as, authors and music series. • Use the approved Allocation Policy to stop the under-spending on capital expenses from the General Fund.
•
e library system updates its plan, including a timeline, for the use of the surplus and begins executing the plan as soon as possible. • Going forward, the library staff should review its budget throughout the year, and, as circumstances change, adjust it accordingly in line with new policies.
After careful review of the fi nancial reports, the Committee concludes that proper procedures have been followed and that funds have been expended as set forth.
9 9 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED
Measure Y Oversight Committee In 2022
Evette Minor, Chair / Mike Neely, Vice Chair
Committee members (as of June 30, 2022)
Janis Brokaw Appointed by commissioner Barbara Mackenzie/Rohnert Park John Dell’Osso Appointed by commissioner Rachel Parker/Cotati Barbara Hughes Appointed by commissioner Thomas Haeuser/Sonoma Valley Charlene Luks Appointed by commissioner Andy Elkind/Healdsburg Tim May Appointed by commissioner Paul Heavenridge/Petaluma Evette Minor Appointed by commissioner David Cahill/Santa Rosa Mike Neely Appointed by commissioner Deborah Doyle/Windsor Vacant Appointed by commissioner Fred Engbarth/Sebastopol Vacant Appointed by commissioner Sarah Laggos/Joint Santa Rosa City and County of Sonoma Vacant Appointed by Cloverdale library commissioner
Vacant Appointed by County of Sonoma commissioner
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
e Measure Y Oversight Committee would like to express its appreciation to the Sonoma County Library Graphics Department for its help in preparing this report; to Myrna Lopez for support with fi nancial data; to Ray Holley for his knowledge of programs and collections; and to Lisa Davison for all her logistical support. 10