Madam Clerk, will you please follow the role to establish a quorum?

Roger Dickinson, Karina Telemontis.

Phil Bluckybaugh.

Katie Maple.

Here.

My bank.

Phil Cerna.

Patrick Kennedy.

Rich Desmond.

Rosario Rodriguez.

Pat Hume.

Mary Jane Lopez Taft.

Here.

Rod Brewer.

Kevin Spees.

Present.

Tim Reed.

Here.

Linda Budge.

Here.

Noel Mora.

Here.

Vina Lefkovitz.

Here.

Nick Bloyce.

And we have eight members for a quorum.

Thank you very much.

And I do note that we have two members online today, so we'll be doing roll call votes for our action items.

Madam Clerk, would you mind reading the meeting statement?

This meeting of the Sacramento Public Library Authority is broadcast live and recorded with closed captioning.

It is cable cast on Metro Cable Channel 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast and Direct TV Uverse Cable Systems.

It is also live streamed at Metro14 Live.gov.

Today's meeting will be placed Saturday, February 28th at 4 p.m.

on Metro Cable Channel 14.

Once posted, the recording of this meeting can be viewed on demand at YouTube.com/slash metro cable 14.

The meeting will also be recorded via Zoom.

A DVD copy will be available upon request no later than two weeks following today's meeting.

The full agenda, including reports, is available at the library's website, www.sacklibrary.org.

Members of the audience wishing to address the board should give a should complete a speaker identification form located at the back table and give it to the clerk.

Members attending via Zoom should raise their hand in the Zoom program.

Please speak clearly when addressing the board and state your name for the record.

Comments are limited to three minutes so that everyone may be heard.

And with that, please stand if you are able and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Salute and Pledge.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Thank you very much.

And I welcome everyone to this exciting meeting of the Sacramento Public Library Authority.

Thrilled to have this be my first meeting as chair.

We'll move on to public comment for matters not on the agenda.

I do note that we have one speaker, Mr.

Charlie Solt.

Please come to the podium.

Welcome.

Hi, welcome.

I'm Charlie Soult.

Uh thank you all for your service.

There's a picture in front of you.

And uh that I brought copies.

That's it.

So welcome to Fair Oaks Library.

Um, you know, you don't have to show that photo, or if you want to block out the the offensive word to show it, that's fine.

So I'm a regular uh visitor to the library, and um you know, several weeks ago, maybe even a month ago, um, visit the library, see that vehicle in the parking lot, right?

As you drive, you can't you can't miss it.

And you know, it bothered me and uh, but I didn't do anything.

And um after several other visits, started get to me.

And so I went in and asked the librarian, hey, who owns that vehicle?

You know, is that somebody that works at the library and the and the librarian said I I don't I don't have any information on that.

So I said, okay, um, you know, is there somewhere I might be able to complain?

So she gave me a card, a little business card, and it has a complaint number that you can call the library.

So I called that number, and I got a call back from a gentleman named David, and um he said I explained the situation of that vehicle and you know all the children going by and they found some language.

I mean, they have a lot of activities at that library, and um he said, Well, there's nothing we can do about that.

It's you know that person's right to protest, however, they're gonna protest.

And um, I said, well, could maybe somebody approach them or something from the county or the library and ask about um, you know, they could maybe modify their language or something.

He said, No, we can't do anything.

By the way, it's it's not even our property.

The parking lot is on the the park's property.

So, and I kind of felt brushed off by that.

And um, so I decided, well, uh let me figure out whose car it is, right?

So it seemed to me pretty clear.

Probably an employee because um it was there all the time, but there's businesses on the other side of the parking lot.

Could have all you know, could have been that.

So I went there this morning, actually, um, got there before opening, and I saw the car drive up and out walked a librarian.

And it's a librarian that works in a library.

And so I approached her and I said, Hey, I I sympathize with your your issue because, you know, I do.

Um, but you know, with all the people and travel and seeing that, you know, is there any way you might be able to modify your message?

Um, you know, maybe instead of saying that F word, maybe say, you know, um uh watch out for or look out for or oppose or fight or or something that you know, children and young folk, you know, aren't gonna see in a library parking lot.

And she said politely, um, well, I thought about that, but no, I'm not going to do that.

And so then I asked her again, so you won't you you were not willing to modify that at all.

And she said, no, I'm not.

So I decided to come here um and and make an issue of it because I don't know the law, I'm not an attorney.

Um, but you know, it's just um, you know, for a librarian, I I pulled out your code of conduct, you know, it was right first page on your website, and it talks about what people that come to the library have to do.

They can't use offensive language and and so forth.

And you know, to me, that's offensive language.

It's and it, you know, ironically, literally can't happen.

You know, I mean, you can't do that.

Um, you could fight, you could oppose, you could, you know, whatever.

You can't do that.

Um, but it fell on deaf ears, and so um, you know, before I go to, you know, you know, standing out there with the people with the church racks, you know, and getting petitions and making a big mess.

I just I was gonna bring it to your attention because she's you know, she's not gonna do anything about it.

And uh that's why I'm here.

Okay.

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you for bringing that to our attention.

And I'll just follow up.

I'll call libraries and hopefully I get an answer so I don't have to proceed.

Okay, thank you.

We'll have our staff follow up with you.

Thank you.

Chair Maple, we have another public speaker online.

Okay, welcome.

I believe that may be me.

Uh good afternoon.

My name is Terrence Gladney, and I am the director of the Terrell Christopher Gladney uh Memorial Academy, also known as TCG Academy.

Uh three years ago uh we started sponsoring the uh Sacramento region for the Scripts National Spelling B.

Uh Sacramento Public Library used to be a sponsor, uh followed by uh I think they were preceded by the Sacramento B.

Um and what our sponsorship does um as a regional partner is we allow a direct pathway for spellers from our 15 county regions surrounding Sacramento to have a direct uh pathway to the scripts national spelling bee.

Uh the first year we undertook it, we had a single speller.

Uh last year we did two spellers.

Uh this year we added a third speller uh specifically from Sacramento City Unified School District.

Um and really just an opportunity for all of our scholars in our region to have a direct path and not have to be commingled with uh spellers from a greater area that includes fellows from four states.

Um we are very open and and eagerly looking for partnership, uh not only from your organization and your individual members, but also more community partners from our region for a very small nonprofit organization like ours.

It's a big undertaking, but we know there's well-worth investment, um, but it really should be something that really is just uplifted by our community.

Um so what I can do is I can email each of you individual uh committee members uh with additional information about the program.

Uh we've been intentional about uplifting our um underserved neighborhoods.

So the first year we did at uh Kennedy High School because of our connections there, but last year we were intentional about uplifting the Oak Park community and held it at the Oak Park Community Center.

Um for our district B for Sacramento City Unified.

This year we're returning to Oak Park and we're hosting it at the brand new Oak Ridge uh elementary school.

And for our regional program, we're um going to Del Paso Heights, and we'll be at the Sacramento Youth Center, which is on March 14th.

Uh the Sacramento City B uh will be on uh March 21st, which is the following uh Saturday.

Um we try to maintain uh a youth centered space.

Um and many young people that I've done mentored and served uh in the history of our organization from 2009 to now are still connected to our space.

Um so I will again follow up with information and thank you guys for your time.

Thank you.

And and yes, please do as the representative of Oak Park, I would uh be happy to help support and would love to learn more.

Absolutely, thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, Madam Clerk.

Any more public comments?

No.

Okay, so then we'll move on to our first presentation, item 3.1.

We have Friends of the Sacramento Public Library.

Welcome.

Hello everyone, my name is Devon Graves.

I currently serve as the vice president for the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library, the official community partner of the library advocating across our region for our library.

I'm joined by uh my amazing colleagues, our President Rachel Caldor and our amazing booked in Director Pam Whitely and probably some other folks on Zoom who are listening in.

Uh we want to thank you all for all your service and the work that you do here.

We first want to thank um the service of um outgoing or immediate past chair um uh board member Brewer, who has just been a great advocate for the Friends, and we welcome and are excited for the new leadership of Chair Maple, and we're looking forward to that partnership as we continue into this year.

Uh we met February 1st and had our um all friends meeting where folks from across the region came together representing the affiliates to engage in some broader discussions about the organization.

We uh took action on making updates to our constitution.

We heard an update from library staff regarding the state of the library and also the updating on the branding work, and um we also just um had some um heartfelt discussions about uh our organization.

So we are continuing to um be committed to the work out of the booked and continue to be committed to the work out our out of our affiliates.

I'll share this morning.

I was at the Galt Library um where the Gulf friends were meeting this morning, and they are um pumped up for a book sale that's coming next month.

They're doing a candy sale, so um they're um thinking about joining the local chamber there.

So we have folks that are just that's just one example of the many folks across this region who are doing some great work on behalf of the Friends.

We have a meeting on March 10th that is coming up.

It will be our regular board meeting.

Um, it'll be at 7 p.m.

on Zoom, so we recommend you uh checking that out or sharing that with folks.

Uh we also do want to speak on the one action item that you have later today that is the MOU between the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library and the Sacramento Public Library to codify the new brand.

I can say on behalf of our organization, we are thrilled at this.

We are beyond grateful to the director and um to the comms team at the library for one taking this on, but also um inviting us to be a part of that journey.

And we have folks that are super, super, super, and I can't emphasize this enough super excited for this new brand.

So we have folks that are really waiting on that approval and they're ready to hit the update on their logo.

So please uh um don't rush through the meeting, but uh as quick as you can get through and pass that, approve it and um sign it.

Uh we are gonna be updating our brand right away.

So thank you so much for all your work.

Thank you for the opportunity to report on how the on behalf of the friends, and I'm happy to take any questions at this time.

Great.

Uh thank you so much for that presentation.

I see that we have director Dickinson.

Um, thanks.

Thanks.

I just wanted to verify the next meeting of the the friends.

You said it's March 10th at 7 p.m.

Correct.

And um is that virtual or in person or hybrid?

It's virtual, so it'll be on Zoom.

Okay.

I maybe you said that and I just missed it.

Okay.

Um thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Any other directors wishing to speak?

Do we have any public comment on this item?

Okay, seeing none.

I just want to say that um it was great speaking with you the other night.

Was that last night?

Last night.

Oh, time.

Time is a construct.

Last night um we saw each other at an event.

Um, and I'm very much looking forward to coming and doing a tour of the booked in.

So I'll be reaching out to schedule that, and if anybody wants to come with me, we can make it a fun party.

Um, and then I will try my best to come to the next meeting as well, just to make sure I introduce myself and you all know who I am, and I can hear more more about you and how we can partner together.

So, really looking forward to that.

Definitely, thank you so much.

Thank you.

Okay, and then I would like to invite up uh Karen Leland, this state of safety and Security at the Sacramento Public Library.

Or the whole team.

Welcome.

The whole team.

Let's take us a moment to get the presentation cued up.

Okay, who can sing?

Where's Peter at?

This is I'm gonna need some help.

Maybe Karen would be a good time to introduce your team.

Oh, I'll do that.

Um, so Jared, um, well, thank you.

Uh, and good afternoon, directors.

I'd like to start by introducing my team, uh, Tanisia Medi.

She is our library security officer.

She brings uh she's been with us for five years at the library, but brings 18 years experience in security operations, and she combines strong operational expertise with her ability to connect with our patrons and the community.

So she's a wonderful asset to our operation.

And then David Holmes, he joined us recently in November.

Uh, David Holmes uh brings 10 years of solid uh security experience, and his position is allowing us to cover uh security or provide security coverage uh during public open hours.

So Tuesday through Saturday, and so during all of uh the open hours, and so uh we are being able to support staff and patrons uh throughout the day and our security efforts.

Uh, together our team uh works behind the scenes to support staff, partner with our contracted officers, and provide guidance and response with difficult issues when they arise.

And before Karen jumps into her presentation, I would like to introduce Karen Leland.

She's the safety and security manager here at Sacramento Public Library, and every two years we bring forward a state of safety and security updates.

This is an important opportunity to step back, look at the data in context, and assess how our systems performing operational, operationally.

I'm proud to say that the presentation that you will see today reflects meaningful progress since we last reported in 2024.

That important that improvement doesn't happen by accidents, it's a result of intentional strategy, consistent monitoring, strong coordination, and Karen and team steady leadership.

Karen's been with the library for over a decade and brings both institutional knowledge and operational discipline to this work.

Having a dedicated safety and security department is not common in public libraries.

I cannot stress how unique it is for us to have this resource and underscores how seriously we take this responsibility to staff and the public.

And with that, Karen, the stage is yours.

And away I go.

Okay, so as you mentioned, I'll be providing an overview of our security trends from fiscal year 2024 through our projected fiscal year 2026.

Uh, this information was in your board packet, information item 5.6.

And so our goal today is to provide a clear system-wide picture that supports strategic planning and also confirms that our deployment decisions remain data-driven.

Uh we'll be looking at overall incident volume, comparing trends between the city and the county libraries, and looking at behavioral patterns and escalation indicators.

And for this overview, city facilities refers to those branches uh located within the Sacramento City limits.

And when we refer to county facilities, we will be including libraries in unincorporated unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, but also the incorporated cities of Citrus Heights, uh, Elk Grove, Isleton, Galt, and Rancho Cordova.

And so overall, we believe that our system has remained stable during this period with consistent and predictable activity patterns.

So two years ago, we reported a sharp increase in safety and security incidents between the fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2024 reporting period.

Total incidents were up 68 percent.

Serious behavioral problems rose 63 percent, and city incidents rose sharply, with most growth concentrated in high demand branches like Central Library.

Uh in response, we strengthened visible security presence, structured structured our deployments, built collaborative partnerships, and provided ongoing staff training to manage incidents effectively.

Looking at fiscal year 2026, that rapid growth appears to have stabilized.

Incident patterns appear predictable.

County activity is leveling off as far as we can tell, and there's no evidence of uncontrolled escalation.

In short, after significant growth, we're now seeing a period of relative stability across the system.

So operational context context matters.

As we review data, trend interpretation should be viewed in the context of operational changes across the system.

In 2024, we transitioned to a new security vendor, Blue Knight Security and Patrol.

The lead account manager is a former canine police officer who brings a wealth of information operationally risk assessment expertise and strong incident management oversight.

We implemented after hour security at targeted locations where encampments and other after hour activity directly impacted branch operations throughout the day.

Martin Luther King Junior Library was closed, Del Paso Heights for parking lot enhancements, and the old Sacramento News and Review Building, home of the future North Sacramento Hagenwood Libraries closed.

We also, hold on one second.

Sorry.

Okay.

We added our internal library security officer position, allowing us to provide coverage during the public hours and support staff training and incident management, and we implemented a security first approach prioritizing de-escalation.

So these operational changes influenced incidents and give context for understanding the data.

So looking at total unique incident responses, we see an increase year over year the past few years.

Since our last report out two years ago, activity has grown more modestly from 1469, 1,0469 incidents to 1,516, with a projected total of 1,642 for fiscal year 2026.

This represents to us manageable, predictable growth, and our experience shows that the system is operating under control.

The main point is that after a period of rapid growth, incident activity has stabilized at levels we can effectively manage across the system.

Some incidents are expected in a library system of this size, but overall the environment appears stable and predictable.

City branches continue to account for the majority of system-wide incidents and largely shape overall totals.

County locations experienced some increases in fiscal year 2025, however, those numbers are now stabilizing.

Importantly, no single county branch is showing disproportionate growth.

While city branches tend to drive total system numbers, county operations are demonstrating stability following targeted interventions that we believe suggests that interventions are working as intended.

Central Library has consistently shown the highest activity, followed by other high-demand city locations.

To address these situations, we've added security staff and expanded coverage during public hours and also after hour shifts within city branches.

This pattern supports a targeted deployment strategy, making a focused security presence the most efficient and effective approach.

Looking at dominant behavioral categories, we see that incidents continue to cluster in three main areas.

First, verbal aggression.

This includes abusive language such as profanity, slurs, hostile gestures, as well as threats or intimidation that create a reasonable fear of harm.

Second, we have noncompliance issues.

This covers refusal to comply with staff or security requests, trespassing or misuse of library facilities.

And when we speak of misuse of library facilities, it's mostly our library restrooms.

Refusal to comply is also almost always followed with abusive language or threats.

We do see that pattern as well.

Third, property-related incidents, which involve theft or damage to library property.

Most theft is opportunistic theft, meaning people leave their belongings left in the library or their bikes unlocked or you know, to some degree.

That's it.

However, in the last couple of months, we've also had multiple burglaries at the Valley High Library and also Del Paso Heights library.

So we did have somebody break into the Valley High Library and targeted our library of things items.

And also Del Paso targeted a few of a number of our computers.

These three categories account for the majority of incidents we track, and understanding them helps guide where we focus our security and staff support.

Behavior totals remain elevated and are projected to increase.

However, this reflects consistent enforcement and documentation of repeat behaviors.

Our workload continues to be behavior management driven.

Staff and security are primarily managing rule enforcement, boundary setting, and verbal aggression, not widespread violent crime.

This behavioral profile has remained consistent since 2024.

We do continue to monitor escalation linked behaviors closely, and while serious incidents occur, they appear proportionate within a large open access public library system.

Intimidation rose in 2025, fiscal 2025, and moderated in fiscal year 2026.

Incidents of non-injury violence, aggressive behavior that did not cause physical harm continue to occur at a steady rate.

Incidents have declined but remain present.

And assaults include physical assault, spitting, use of pepper spray, credible threats, and other physical aggression.

These events represent direct or threatened harm to staff, security, or patrons, and highlight the importance of immediate response and risk mitigation.

Weapon incidents overall, the volume is low, but one weapon incident is too many.

They carry significant risk.

These include possession, weapon possession or discovery of weapons on library property, as well as threats of use of weapons.

Most reports involve knives with fewer involving firearms, machetes, or chemical sprays.

Fiscal year 2026 data shows a significant reduction, though targeted prevention and planning remain critical.

So escalation risk exists, but it is being actively monitored and contained.

Targeted interventions and prevention strategies appear to be effective in maintaining safety.

So bringing this all together, the system appears to us to be operationally stable.

Incident activity appears predictable and concentrated.

We're not seeing evidence of uncontrolled growth.

Our security framework remains aligned with our observed conditions, and we maintain a data-informed deployment model, partnering with Blue Knight Security and Patrol.

We do prioritize visible presence at high impact locations.

The rapid growth period that we saw in 2024 in that report out has transitioned into stable operational management.

While incidents cannot be protected with certainty, our continuous monitoring and targeted security deployment appear to have stabilized the system for now.

And I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you.

So yeah, Director Dickinson.

Thanks, Chair.

Do we have numbers?

We did in the report we did have numbers in the informational item 5.6.

And I'm sorry, I should have uh clarified when I called this.

This is an item that uh was listed under um informational, but then we didn't wanted to do a presentation of it, so that was oh no, that's that's that's fine.

I just I didn't see the material with the the numbers for some reason.

So I guess it didn't get um printed for for me, but that's at my end.

It sounds oh thank you.

Sounds like that was probably at my end, not your end.

So uh uh and so um I'm just curious, uh, and uh add a little bit of a disadvantage because I didn't uh have a chance to look at the numbers and and you identified both Del Paso Heights and and North Sacramento Hagenwood as libraries in your constellation of concerns.

Uh what is what what do you see as a uh uh trend line uh if you do at those two branches?

Well, I can't speak of the numbers specifically right now, but what I could tell you with North Sacramento, it's the incident severity.

So we were seeing a pattern of incident severity for that small branch, and so we did deploy additional security out at that branch to try to bring that uh temperature down out there, and so we are seeing success in doing so.

And that branch is primarily verbal, uh verbal, uh verbal threats, uh abusive language, yeah.

Um we did have um some uh high level threats uh towards staff, and so yes, and so across the board.

Physical altercations between patrons, and and we believe that could be due to how small it is and how close people are together in the location.

And I'm just curious further uh do you track how many of the interactions or occasions you end up uh actually calling uh the police either 911 or non-emergency?

Um we don't, but but that certainly is something that we can do in the future.

Uh we do we do call the police out to North SAC quite often, and we did install panic buttons out there for that purpose as well.

I mean, we've we're we're trying to coordinate with uh the police department uh in in North Sacramento, and we had a meeting for that for that purpose.

I don't know if there's been follow-on from that or or not, but but I am uh uh curious uh about uh what kind of uh what kind of uh uh incidents we're seeing that are triggering calls and the and the response, whether whether uh that is working uh effectively or adequately, uh especially for those for those branches.

So, well, I can't.

If we can find if we can dig into that a little bit, I think I could provide that information to you, but I could speak to that.

We have uh pushed panic buttons uh a number of times at North Sachs since your meeting, and the police have responded.

Okay, okay.

That that's a so we're happy to report that.

All right, that is good to hear, and and that's something that uh I would be very interested in as uh on an ongoing basis.

If uh if in some way you you think the response is not what you would like it to be or hope it to be, then we could uh get together and talk about that and make sure we've got the the police department looped in so that we're as effective and responding as possible.

And we appreciate all of your support.

Thank you.

Yeah, okay.

Thank you.

Okay, all right, and I see directory read.

Thank you.

Gotta turn the microphone on.

Uh I Tim Reed from Galt.

Uh we love our library in Galt, by the way.

Um, I did I have a long history of public safety.

And so when I see any types of numbers going up, it concerns me.

Um, if at any of my other public safety agencies had an increase like this year over year, it would concern me.

So, my question is at what point or what percentage increase or what type or number of increase would we start being concerned about these types of incidents?

Because you're telling me, you know, we've had an 11% increase in the total incidents, and then I looked at the behavioral and it's a 20% increase over the last two years, but you're saying that it's not that concerning.

So my question is at what point should we start being concerned?

Well, I'm I we are concerned, but we it we see that it is stabilizing and that we are being able to manage it through all of our efforts with security and additional security hours, and um having a stationed officer out at a site.

So we're always continuously looking at the data.

Uh, we're looking at the types of incidents that we're having.

Um we see that the numbers are going lower for the escalated behaviors, and so that's promising.

Everything could change tomorrow, but we are continuously looking at the data, but we um right now it feels stable, and you know, we have our security first approach.

Um, we have a lot of support from our security, a new security company, and so it it our experience is showing that it's stabilizing high numbers, but stabilizing.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, okay.

See, Director Lopez Taf.

Thank you so much, Chair Maple.

Um, my question is or concern is along the same lines as Director Reed, and you know, when I see um projected numbers of that arising for security concerns, I need to ask what are some other factors besides the physical security officers or security systems or what have you are we employing?

Because I would rather see a projection that we're going to uh mitigate substantially uh these incidences that are we're trending down as far as what we hope to do in our efforts, and so uh the question is what else are we doing to support security within the system?

Yes.

So we're doing additional training with our staff.

Uh we are also installing panic buttons.

Um we are collaborating on uh security task force meetings through PBID operations and organizations, we participate downtown in the downtown task force.

Um, and so we are you know continuing to monitor the data and provide support, you know, as as needed.

And Jared, do you want to speak to that?

Uh yes, and um, you know, in addition to what Karen talked about, too.

At the same time, too, we're trying to we're we're working with the jurisdictions as well to address these issues because you know this is symptomatic of all of Sacramento County, right?

And incidents that we're seeing.

If you talk to retail, if you talk to other libraries across the river, for example, we had a meeting with uh the yellow county, what uh West Sacramento, and they're also seeing marked increases as we are.

So this is a much larger issue.

We're trying to partner with anyone and everyone we can, but I want to say we're all in this together, and we all need to work towards, you know, towards this bigger problem.

I have one additional question.

So do we have a strategic plan that we're working toward these strategies so they can be memorialized so they can be evaluated for effectiveness, things of that nature because I I just cannot see a statistic trending upward, and then we don't have a benchmark to say, okay, we get this report every two years.

It is what it is.

I rather have benchmarking based on a strategic plan goal that we can say, okay, your efforts are reducing, your efforts are keeping things the same.

Or is there no such memorialization of efforts?

Well, as part of a strategic plan, it's about you know safe environment, safe communities.

So we are working um to try to achieve that through our different rules of conduct with our uh efforts towards diversity and inclusion, right?

Doing a better job of understanding why some of these incidents occur or how we can better be uh better approach a patron who might be doing something so that it doesn't set off into other behaviors.

So we are working in concert with the strategic plan on this.

And Director Lopez Taft, if I might, I'm we're happy to maybe discuss some metrics that we can share with the board uh at a future date.

We don't have those in the strategic plan, but happy as a management team to put that together for you.

Thanks, Peter.

Okay, Director Brewer.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, I want to thank you for the report.

I find it very interesting the the data that you shared because looking at um the various chapters throughout the region, it feels like that it is on a little bit of an uptick, but what sort of partnerships, successful partnerships that the library is doing with Sacramento County through the Sheriff's Department and through the respective police departments to help try and mitigate against some of the escalating activity that we're seeing at the libraries now.

So we do participate in the uh business improvement district uh organizations, uh, where they are located or when they are in our area, and so we do uh participate in those meetings.

We have access to the DA when they um uh are at the meeting, and also law enforcement.

So we are trying to partner with our law enforcement closely to provide guidance to us as well.

And and in the effort to uh to do that, um, are we seeing are we seeing more isolated incidents just only within the central library or um in the north, or are we seeing something pretty much more balanced throughout the region?

Um, because like north of Elk Grove, we have the Valley High North Laguna Library, we have the Franklin Library over on the west end in the East Franklin neighborhood of Elk Grove, and then you have the Elk Grove Library, and then Bell Coolidge just a little further to the north.

So just trying to get a feel for where are we seeing the hot spots?

Well, central library for sure, year over year is a hot spot.

Uh we know this, um, but I think if you look at the surrounding area, Valley High, um, often uh there's encampments that start to grow around the Valley High Library, and then so there is a correlation for us when that starts to happen that we start to see after our incidents and also incidents during the day as well.

And so uh we uh have been using currently we have an after hour security officer stationed there due to the burglary, and we're shoring up our operation so that we can um remove that position, but we've continued to have intermittent security after hours for Valley because of those issues, and so we do see that when we have after hour security presence, it it resolves some of the issues that we have during the day.

So Valley High Central Library is just a hot spot.

I think we have you know a lot of people moving in and out.

Um at Central, we we like to say people don't want to be told what to do, and so that just when you um, you know, use your best de-escalation skills and try to um have people follow the code of conduct.

Sometimes they blow into something bigger.

So when we look at the category totals, those are going to be bigger than the incident totals because one incident can have several categories of behavior associated with it, could be abusive language, refusal to comply, uh threats, intimidation.

It's it is in a way subjective for the person who is on the receiving end of that behavior, right?

Um so I think if you look at colonial heights, that that tends to be a hot spot.

Right now, we just reopened out there and everything is uh moving wonderfully for us, and so we could be in a honeymoon phase.

We think things are looking really good out there.

Um so I think if you look at the areas where our libraries are, you can see a correlation of some of the issues that we have.

Definitely, because I'm trying uh, yeah, because for for the health of the community and for the health of the library itself, just trying to figure out how to gauge um the weighted amount of how many security officers you need per site, because obviously for security, their duty is to observe and report uh not to enforce, and so just making sure that we have the we have the right number of security at each location, even after hours that way um they can provide the right eyes and ears for for police um or in the sheriff's department, depending on where they're at, just to make sure that the deterrence is being um being enforced and being kept just to make sure that the the surrounding community is safe as well.

Absolutely.

I agree a hundred percent.

Okay, I have a thank you, Director Brewer.

And I just have a quick follow-up question before you move on to Director Lefkowitz.

So are the staff um at the Sacramento based uh library, so including downtown, the central library, Colonial Heights, Valley High, and others um are they trained?

Trained um either the security or staff at the library to use 311 by chance the city.

Oh yeah, so and specifically for encampments.

Oh yeah, okay, we do um we do call uh we we've seen a better response than we have had in the past, um, but yes, we um but what we know is that if we don't have security on site, it grow it starts to grow, and so we do see that first it's not a real-time uh thing, right?

So, how can we always call uh 911 or place if there's uh something happening in real time, but as it relates to 311, um I heard you say call, but I would also highly recommend if you're not already using either the app or the online version because one uh like many agencies we are understaffed and are called and are for our calls, and so we uh it may be actually harder to get hold of someone if you call, but the app, we actually have really quick response times with the app because they receive it, they put it into a heat map, they're able to go through the list, and then a lot of times people don't want to, you know, don't want to keep reporting because they're like, I'm sure someone else has it actually is really helpful because we use the number of reports that we get for certain encampments or issues to actually determine where we need to send out our resources.

So if we're getting a lot of um complaints about one area, we know okay, we have to go there tomorrow, you know, and so just uh to put something out there, you're not you're not bugging us, and so it might actually be helpful if we have more people who are reporting issues.

Okay, it's a great idea.

Thank you.

And then with that, Director Lefkowitz.

Um, yeah, I might have a different lens on this.

Um, I'm happy you're training your staff in de-escalation techniques.

Uh I had thought I remember hearing that you had some social workers out stationed in summer, maybe the downtown library.

And I if that's still the case, I'm curious if they have had any impact on helping people, because I wonder how much of this is some kind of mental health issue or people not knowing how to regulate themselves, and rather than a police person, maybe a human services person stepping in and helping.

So I'm just curious.

We do have a social work worker program, and that is run by our manager Liana Acevedo.

And I think she has been here to the board before to um talk about uh some of the accomplishments, and maybe uh Jared, we could have her back to to talk uh more about that.

But yes, we do have social workers downtown.

Um they have been asked to step in and help us and assist us with uh certain situations, and so we can say that those have been successful.

Um, and so I I hear what you're saying.

Uh, perhaps uh social worker versus a security officer.

But um, it's something to uh think about for sure.

Yeah, maybe not verses, but maybe it would be a way to redo some of the behaviors before you have to bring the officer in.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, really good questions and comments.

Um, I super appreciate the presentation.

It's great to be updated on what's going on, even if some of the numbers aren't maybe exactly what we want to see.

It's really important that we're transparent about it so that we know we know what actions we need to take, and also that we know that um and our employees know and our patrons know that we care about this and we're working on it every single day.

So absolutely.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

With that, we'll move on to our wonderful executive director for his report.

Great, thank you very much, Chair Maple.

Uh, good afternoon, board members.

Thank you for letting me participate remotely today.

I'm in Washington, DC, where I just completed uh American Library Association National Legislative Day, and we were able to visit with both our states, our senators from California, Senator Schiff and PD's staff, as well as Congress uh people, Matt Suey and Barra.

We had some great conversations about supporting the library services and technology act and Institute for Museum and Library Services, which is the only federal funding uh local public libraries receive.

We also talked with them about the e-rate program, which provides internet service to libraries at a significant discount.

Uh, for the board's information, we receive about an 85% discount on our internet because of our participation in e-rate and the statewide scene it program.

So these are vital programs for America's libraries.

We also talked about the recently released government accountability report on the condition of public library buildings in America.

And this study found that an estimated 70% of public libraries have a backlog of deferred maintenance and repair.

It also found that 71% of public libraries cite construction costs, labor materials, and funding as a key challenges to addressing those repairs, which I don't think is a surprise to any of us in local and state government.

Uh things cost a lot of money, and there never is enough of it.

But that is why we're very grateful for the uh the state library's building forward infrastructure grant program, which has allowed our member jurisdictions to receive the funding to complete the projects we're currently undertaking.

And we really appreciate the collaboration with them during this process.

And as you know, construction dates and information changes.

So we hope that the information in the packet is as up-to-date as it can be.

Uh, but things may change and we'll update the members of the board accordingly.

Um, and on that vein, uh, we are working towards securing a ribbon cutting date for the Colonel Heights meeting room.

Uh, there's some uh outstanding work that is still waiting to be completed, uh, and we hope to have that finished and have a date soon.

Working with uh council member uh Chair Maple and Councilmember Guerra's offices to secure a date for that.

So we hope to have that uh announced in the next couple days and have something uh happen soon.

Uh Saturdays in March are very busy, so we're we're grateful that they're finding time to do that.

Um and also uh the Martin Luther King Library and Elk Grove Libraries are on track for summer uh 2026 openings, which we have in the packet there, and then the North Sacramento uh Hagenwood Rotary.

Um sorry, the North Sacramento Hagenwood Library is is also uh on schedule and uh we recently this last weekend I attended the Rotary Club of North Sacramento's uh Centennial Gala.

Uh their centennial project is sponsoring our library of things at that location, and so we're looking forward to having that as a key feature when we open that building.

Um it's gonna be a very great thing for our community.

Um there are a couple items in my written in the written report from the from the executive team.

I'll just highlight.

Uh, and the first is the first item is the harm reduction partnership with the harm reduction services, and this is a great example of how we're trying to uh partner with communities, uh, organizations as part of our strategic plan to bring the services that our community needs to the library and help promote them.

Uh so this the service is uh is is new and we're looking forward to having uh great success with this partnership and uh seeing how we can continue to grow that that new partnership and we're also happy to talk about our volunteer meetup and recruitment that happened at the Valley High North Laguna Library.

Over 70 people attended and uh they they talked about their volunteer experiences and learned more about the what they can do with the library, and I think it was a success.

Uh we had over 20 new volunteers sign up for adult literacy program to help volunteer, which is a great thing.

Um and then finally I'd just like to highlight our library after hours team takeover.

Uh we had over a hundred teens in our library galleria on the 26th.

Uh they had a great evening of socializing, having activities, and doing some artwork.

So we're really happy that we were able to provide a place for the teens to do that.

It's a popular program, and we're looking forward to to having it again next year, I hope.

Um, and with that, I'm I'm happy to answer any questions the board might have from the written report and the things that I have spoken about and anything else the board desires.

Okay, any questions for our uh executive director here?

Director Mora.

Thank you.

I have one.

Thank you for your report.

Uh it's great to hear about the popular teen takeover of the library galleria that you mentioned.

Just curious how maybe some of the schools in within you know the library system can help promote uh that kind of event.

If not if if that's not happening already.

Uh yeah, uh Director Mora, I I can't speak directly to that, but I'm happy to follow up with you with our uh youth services uh team to get some more information on how that's happening, and if not, how we can uh foster that partnership.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Um do we have any public comment on this item?

Seeing none, uh seeing no other directors queued up.

Thank you very much for the report as always, and uh please uh continue representing us well on DC, as you do.

Okay, so we'll move on to item well items five is information, so trusting everybody's read this, but if anyone has any questions for any of the informational items, seeing none, then we'll move on to our consent calendar.

Do any directors have any questions or comments on any of the consent items?

I'm with consent calendar.

Okay.

Sorry, a motion and a second.

Do we have any public comment on consent?

No, seeing none, okay.

Uh and what we please call the role.

Roger Dickinson.

Hi.

Phil Plucky Baum.

Katie Maple.

Aye.

My bang, Bill Cerna, Pat Dirk Kennedy, Rich Desmond, Rosario Rodriguez, Pat Hume, Mary Jane Lopez Taff.

Aye.

Rod Brewer.

Aye.

Kevin Spees.

Aye.

Tim Reid.

Aye.

Linda Budge.

Yes.

Tanya Kravchuk.

Aye.

Noel Mora.

Aye.

Bina Lefkovitz.

Yes.

Nick Blois.

Aye.

Motion passes with 12.

Members voting.

All right.

Thank you very much.

And then we'll move on to our action items.

Moving first to item 7.1.

Approval of an agreement with the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library regarding the use of intellectual property and revised fundraising partnership policy.

So moved with no rushing.

Is there a presentation on this item?

Chair Maple, no, there's not.

Okay.

Okay.

I have a motion in a second.

Okay.

Well, please call the role.

Uh, noting that we actually do, just kidding, we have one public commenter, Mr.

Graves.

Welcome on.

Almost missed you.

Sorry, I'm the cause for the delay on the rush.

Um, just want to emphasize again, we're very supportive of this.

We want to thank the library team again for their patience and shepherding us through this process.

Change is not easy, so this was not um a rosy conversation as an organization, but a necessary conversation to update.

I also want to thank um Rachel for her leadership through this, Anita Scurry for her work on the MOU general counsel for your work in partnership with this.

So we definitely urge your support of this MOU.

Wonderful.

A true collaborative effort.

So with that, you may now call the roll.

Roger Dickinson.

Aye, Karina Telemantes.

Aye, Phil Phil Plucky Balm, Katie Maple.

Aye.

Phil Cerna, Patrick Kennedy, Rich Desmond, Rosario Rodriguez, Pat Hume, Mary Jane Lopez Taff.

Aye.

Rob Brewer.

Aye.

Kevin Spees.

Aye.

Tim Reed.

Aye.

Linda Budge.

Yes.

Tanya Kravchuk.

Aye.

Noel Mora.

Aye.

Bina Lefkovitz.

An enthusiastic yes.

Nick Bloyce.

Aye.

And motion passes with 12 members voting.

Yay.

Awesome.

Okay.

That brings us to item 7.2.

Approval of the fiscal year 2025-26 mid-year budget update and supplemental funding allocation.

Welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair Maple and members of the board.

So on the agenda today is the mid-year budget update for fiscal year 25-26.

So the mid-year budget allows us to true up numbers.

So a quick PowerPoint here.

And not too many changes, but feel free to ask any questions along the way.

So the changes of minor revenue we are anticipating the of uh decrease of 226,000 combined and expenditure increase of 204,000 for the total net increase in use of fund balance in amount of 430,000.

As shown on exhibit uh, the uh total revenues uh uh projected to be at sixty-three point one million um and then on the same exhibit expenditures at 70.1 million uh for the net use of uh 7 million in use of fund balance um again um six 6.6 million was um adopted by the budget and um in during the september final budget so um so this uh mid year budget has an increase of uh 430,000 in uh use of fund balance um and as uh noted in the past um most of this um increase in use of fund balance um 2.5 million is for project carry olvos and one one time project cost um including signage uh system-wide signages uh security counter systems um automated material handling systems uh it routers and um books uh books and material collections um two million dollars is uh due to the city of Sacramento uh general fund and measure you um uh contribution diversion so uh this is year one of two years um and uh in terms of a $2 million dollars uh diversion per year um and that's mainly to um to cover the uh budget shortfall for the the Mont Luther King uh project and the North Sacramento Library project um and then additionally, 1.7 million is for the supplemental fund reserve usage for three HVAC projects at the Columbia Micro Library, North Highland Antelope Library, and the outendemic library.

500,000 is increase in security cost.

As Karen mentioned earlier with her presentation, staff is working on mitigating and minimizing security incidents, but that requires additional cost and uh funding resources as well.

And then 300,000 for reopening the Sparkle collections at the L Grove Library.

Taking the look at the revenue in a bit more detail, so again, 63.1 million, 226,000 decrease from the September final budget.

And then this is mainly due to the county property tax uh projection.

Um when we projected last the current year budget, um the final numbers has hasn't come in yet for um the fiscal year and the June 30, 2025.

Um so based on the 25 numbers, um we are seeing a um downtick in property tax revenues, although it's it's fairly stable.

Um as you'll see later on, the um projected increase for next year is still uh three and a quarter basis point.

But um we we projected a little bit high, so we want to get it get it back to what we think it'll be uh by the time we close the books in a few short months.

Um and then uh gifts, grants, and donations uh from July through uh November, 274,000.

Um so with the three major revenue sources.

Uh we anticipate uh 37.1 million for the county property tax revenues, uh city of Sacramento uh general fund measure U contribution at 30 uh 12.3 million.

Um so that number is not changed from the September final budget and measure E policy tax measure E at 10.4 million.

And as you recall, measure E is a consolidation of the current uh uh parcel tax X and parcel tax B for the City of Sacramento.

On the expenditure side, um again uh 70.1 million, um, 204,000 increase from the September final budget, um, and mainly due to the increase in security cost, um the carryover on the book and materials um budget, 200,000, and the um the matching side from the revenues of uh gift grants and donations of 204,000 with a uh also a uh net decrease in uh projected salaries and vacancy savings of 500,000, and also a decrease in uh services and supplies of 200,000.

So we have some increases and then also we're anticipating some uh decreases in um expenditures as well too.

And then as part of the mid-year budget, we also look at the county of Sacramento's um annual supplemental funding allocation.

Um as you'll recall, the board had adopted a um 35% cash flow and economic uncertainty reserve for the county fund.

Um the finance advisory committee, um uh the makeup is of uh the county CFO, uh city finance directors and other partner um finance directors from uh partners agencies as well.

Um so we met as a group on January 28th to look at the audited financial statements.

Um and these are finance folks, so we we focused mainly on the fund balancers um to uh to take a look at the fund balances and determine the required reserves, uh system-wide improvements and equipment needs, and also the five-year forecast.

Um so during the meeting, we uh there were lots lots of questions.

Um the end result was a recommendation to allocate 117,000 and um uh supplemental funding allocation for fiscal year 26.

And so how how do we get to the supplemental funding allocation amount?

Um, so table one on the staff report shows um how the number is derived.

Um so we start with the the fiscal year ending June 30, 20125, 2025 fund balance.

So when we close the books, uh we ended the year at uh 34.1 million.

Um, and then less the cash flow and economic uncertainty reserves of 35%, which is 13.2 million, restricted reserves.

That includes the current supplemental fund balances, the food maintenance, request, donations, so forth.

That's based on our five-year forecast.

And system-wide security IT, AMHS furniture, and fixtures of 6.2 million.

So that gets us to 117,000 in allocable fund balance for into the supplemental fund.

Exhibit table two shows the how the supplemental fund is calculated.

And that's mainly based on three factors.

So the sum of the three, the average gives you the annual supplemental funding factor.

So and then on applying that that percentage to the 117,000 gives you the proportionate share of the um allocation per each agency.

So we ended the year at 5.2 million combined.

And then on the county on incorporate areas, um, the county had requested to use about 1.7 million uh for three HVAC projects at the Carl Michael, North Highland, and out endemic branch.

And then lastly, the final column, this is the projected um estimated supplemental fund balance at June 30, 2026.

So in about four short months, um we'll be closing the books again and uh prepping for the audit.

Um so these are the balances that we anticipate for uh supplemental fund um for a total of uh 3.6 million dollars combined.

Uh position control, um no recommended changes at this time.

Um so staff is recommending to uh keep it at uh 343.5 FTEs.

Um and then looking ahead in fit uh towards fiscal year 26-27 budget, um, so the county property taxes, um, although it's fairly stable, but we're seeing a downward trend.

Um at so next year we're anticipating to um project a three and a quarter basis point for um property tax revenues.

Um and and we do communicate with the county assessor to uh come up with these um these analyses.

Um and we try to stay conservative on the revenue side, um, you know, hoping hoping that we are on target and hopefully not uh not too low and not too high.

Um and then on the city's uh Sacramento uh general fund and measure you, um so as I mentioned, uh fiscal year 26 has a two million dollars diversion, and fiscal year 27, there's another uh plan two million diversion for um the Mont Luther King and the North Sacramento Library projects.

Um so a total of uh four million dollars combined um over the two years uh span.

Um and then also um the previously um uh projected step up increases um have also been eliminated.

Um again these are these are projected on the city's five-year forecast um uh years ago, and um, but the message we get from the city's uh you know finance director and budget team is uh nothing's ever guaranteed.

So this is an example of um it's in the budget, it's in the forecast, but it's not guaranteed so um so the the 7.7 million, that's a uh cumulative funding loss over a five-year uh time span.

Um so based on that, that the based on our forecast, um, the structural deficit is ranging from 2.3 to 3.9 million uh year over year.

Um, and fortunately, um the libraries been have been prudent with our spending uh resources, um, the uh supply chain shortages uh project delays that allowed us to accumulate some of the fund balances uh which hopefully will help us um you know whether they store more the next um next uh four to five years um so that's bullet point um in the long run it's unsustainable to be dipping to fund balance on a um on an annual basis so hopefully uh we'll continue to have conversations with the uh city's finance director uh the budget team to um uh hopefully come up with a a solution on on the uh long-term uh fiscal planning um and then on the last slide um CSAC mmento measure E is projected to be increase at uh three percent um this is capped at the uh three percent level based on the San Francisco uh CPI index um and then Calpus contribution uh we anticipate an increase of uh 55 basis point for um the employee contribution so bring it to uh 21.4 uh percent of fiscal year 27 and uh staff anticipate on uh bringing the budget uh f fiscal year 26 27 budget to the uh thoroughly board uh may 28th uh meeting um so that's a pretty quick summary um any questions i'll be happy to answer them all right thank you for the presentation i see director dickinson thanks chair um thanks chair i had a c just a couple things i wanted to ask about thank you for the presentation um you listed uh on the expenses in uh for your mid year uh uh i don't recall your slide exactly but it's like two hundred thousand for grants etc i think it was like yeah this is one more slide oops what right there yeah okay and so how are grants gifts and donations and expenditure um so director dickinson's um we we receive um so we we receive uh revenues so when when grants come in um gifts donations so forth um that is uh submitted to the board for approval and so on the revenue side it's 274 thousand and um the corresponding grants expenditure is 2040 so it's a it's really it's not incoming it's uh disbursement of the grants it it's a matching yeah it's a match in revenue to expenditures okay um and then the the number is slightly different um because um a portion of the revenue have been budgeted already in um based on the september final budget so um that's why you have 274 thousand in revenues and only 204 000 in expenditure okay so i i see how you're tracking this now okay um the other the other uh question i had you showed uh i i believe 500 thousand in salary savings yes um so this this slide right here i have up um so that's that's the uh salary uh savings due to vacancies and um yeah is that is that over the period of time from july first or whenever the budget was adopted october first the the budget was adopted in may of um last year so it was a july it was a july first I know there was a reference in here to October so that's those are salary savings for six months but I mean or so this is um this is the um the total savings that we project um through the end of June so um oh for over 12 over 12 months over 12 months okay uh that that's uh helpful also but one of the things is uh I would just um suggest uh if you're not already planning to do it, is as you look at the 20 uh six twenty-seven budget that since um since there's uh a structural deficit, that uh you examine positions that have been uh vacant for an extended period of time, and that can be defined in lots of different ways uh to determine whether those those positions should be retained or not, because I noticed your position control was the same number of positions, so I I assume that was not just this year, but but perhaps um considering for next year as well, and so uh it it just seems to me if if you've got positions you've been carrying for a long time, they're not filled, they need they need to be looked at because we're looking to appropriate money for those to carry those, uh and we could get the uh uh certainly not everything we need in order to balance the budget uh or to address the structural deficit for 2627, but we could get something out of that.

So that's just something I encourage.

Yeah, that's a good approach.

Yeah, I mean and position control is one of the one of the many things that we look at um as we uh you know uh start the next year's budget.

So, um so yeah, we'll we'll certainly visit uh position control as well too.

Thanks, Chair.

Okay, thank you.

Any other directors of comments or questions on the mid-year budget?

Okay, seeing none.

Any public comment on this item?

Seeing none.

Oh, I should be asking if any of other directors online, but I'm assuming you've also been looking at that.

Okay, wonderful.

All right.

With that, um, does this this needs a motion?

So moved.

I have a motion, I have a second.

Okay, please call the roll.

Roger Dickinson, aye, Karina Tolamante.

Aye, Phil Plucky Baum, Katie Maple.

Aye, my Vang, Phil Cerna, Patrick Kennedy, Rich Desmond, Rosario Rodriguez, Pat Hume, Mary Jane Lopez Taff.

Aye.

Rod Brewer?

Aye.

Kevin Spees.

Aye.

Tim Reed?

Aye.

Linda Budge.

Yes.

Tanya Kravchuk.

Aye.

Noel Mora.

Aye.

Yes.

Nick Blois.

Aye.

Motion passes with 12 members voting.

Excellent.

Great news on all fronts.

Okay.

Now we move on to reports, ideas, questions from board members.

Anything anyone wants to share?

Anyone online wanting to share?

Okay, seeing none.

Uh with nothing else to come before this uh board, we are now adjourned at 4 17 p.m., yeah.