Quincy Reporter

City of Quincy Public Library Board met July. 15.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

RAILS Associate Executive Director and Aurora Public Library Board President Joe Filapeck joined the board of trustees via Teams video call to discuss the logistics of a city library becoming a district and what to expect. He explained that the primary reason for Aurora Public Library transitioning from a city library to a library district was financial, specifically, to gain more control over funding through a levy increase. The city supported the move because it reduced their responsibilities. Prior to the change, the library had faced funding constraints, even requiring the city to act as a creditor at times. Since becoming a district, financial stability has improved. Additionally, he clarified that while state law sets a minimum funding requirement for city libraries, the district now determines its budget needs via a levy request, not a fixed tax rate. The counties involved then calculate the actual tax rate based on that levy. Currently, the tax rate is around 34–35 cents per $100 of assessed value. The focus remains on meeting service needs, not setting tax rates directly.

The meeting of the Quincy Public Library Board of Directors was called to order at 6:33 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, by President Jon Hoover. The roll call attendance was as follows:

Jon Hoover: present Clairice Hetzler: absent Lena Jones: absent Dean Lavelle: present Scott Walden: present Kelly Mays: present Cheryl Predmore: absent Harry Ruth: absent Megan Dusterhaus-AuBuchon: present

Present: 5 Absent: 4

Others present: Kathleen Helsabeck, Natascha Will and Jess Givens.

I. CONSENT AGENDA

Megan motioned to approve the consent agenda. Scott seconded and the motion carried.

II. PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS

Jon reiterated to the board the importance of scheduling a special meeting for the trustees to go over parliamentary procedures and refresh on the expectation of board roles.

III. PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments at this time.

IV. FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY

Gerri reported to the board that FOL approved a donation to QPL of $450 for fishing poles for the Children’s Department and reminded them of the upcoming book sale July 31st through August 2nd.

V. RECOGNITION OF PATRON CORRESPONDENCE

QPL received the letter from the Secretary of State’s office regarding the 2025 Per Capita Grant of $58,207.93.

An anonymous donor from Keokuk, IA is donating his own library of approximately 2,500 books to QPL, ranging in subjects including history, biographies, law, economics and philosophy. The donor specified that the collection is an unrestricted donation to QPL, are in “very good” and “like new” condition and valued at around $35,000. This donation will assist in correcting the recent over-weeding of materials and at no cost to the library.

VI. DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Kathleen informed the board of her meeting with Mayor Moore and stated that the mayor agrees the library board is an autonomous board, and the library is not a department of the city, but a separate unit of government. She also sees the levy as a pass-through levy just like the police and fire pensions, and she would like to raise the library levy to eliminate library subsidy.

Laura McReynolds met with Kathleen to communicate that the council's goal is to eliminate the library subsidy, likely continuing into the next budget cycle. She inquired about alternative revenue sources. It was explained to her that there are none currently available, and while the TQ board could raise their levy, it's not guaranteed. Grants and donations are inconsistent and typically project specific. The director mentioned the recent supportive meeting with the new mayor, the formation of a task force to advocate for library funding, and that the library board will be researching the district process in their July meeting.

The board was then informed that Summer programming is coming right along in Outreach and deliveries to educators involved in them. The Mobile Library also welcomed 2,052 visitors during the month of June, including stops at senior centers, youth programs, daycares, and other community locations. 127 visitors registered for library cards or renewed an existing card during these visits. The Mobile Library fall schedule planning has begun, which will feature a wider variety of locations and will include visits to several schools and elementary schools during pick up times. The history and travel collection budget is $5,200 a year, and with an average of $35 a book, the library will purchase about 148 books to the shelves. The Mobile Library brought 180 books from their storage to the stacks, and the anonymous book donor has around 400 history books that can be shelved alongside them. In total, 728 history items will be added to the collection.

VII. NEW BUSINESS

The board was given two mockups of the donor recognition vinyl project for the Mobile Library for review. They board agreed that the draft with the same font used in the current QPL logo was the best fit. The marketing department will run quotes on the addition to the bus wrap and relay that to the board.

EXPENDITURE APPROVAL LIST –Megan made a motion to approve the expenditure approval list. Dean seconded and the motion carried. The roll call vote is as follows:

Jon: yes Clairice: absent

Lena: absent Dean: yes

Megan: yes Kelly: yes

Cheryl: absent Harry: absent

Scott: yes

Yes: 5 Absent: 4

VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT

There were no public comments at this time.

IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Scott made a motion to go into executive session for the purpose of discussing a personnel matter at 7:15. Kelly seconded, and the motion carried.

Scott made a motion to reconvene into regular session at 8:20. Dean seconded, and the meeting was reconvened.

Dean moved to release Kathleen Helsabeck as the Director of the Quincy Public Library. Kelly seconded, and roll call was taken. The roll call was as follows:

Jon: present Clairice: absent

Lena: absent Dean: yes

Megan: yes Kelly: yes

Cheryl: absent Harry: absent

Scott: yes

Yes: 4 Absent: 4 Present: 1

Megan made a motion to instead place Kathleen on leave until the board can reconvene. The trustees scheduled a special board meeting for Friday, July 18, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. The roll call was as follows:

Jon: yes Clairice: absent

Lena: absent Dean: yes

Megan: yes Kelly: yes

Cheryl: absent Harry: absent

Scott: yes

Yes: 5 Absent: 4

X. ADJOURNMENT

Scott made a motion to adjourn at 8:33 p.m. Dean seconded, and the motion carried.

https://www.quincylibrary.org/sites/default/files/content/minutes/4.%20July%2015%20Regular%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf