In attendance were Vince Volpe, President, presiding; and Keith Savage, Vice President; and Tom Schlafly. John Dubinsky, Jacque Land, Nina North-Murphy, Janet Rainford, and David Sweeney attended virtually. Lisa Stump from Lashly & Baer attended virtually.
Also present were Chief Executive Officer Waller McGuire and staff members Maryann Brickey,, Jon Drakesmith, Amanda Endicott, Cathy Heimberger, Mary Meyer, Joe Monahan, Lauren Mudge, Tiffany Peck, Liz Reeves, Jim Slattery, Laura Stallings, Justin Struttmann, and Jen Wiese.
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Volpe.
Minutes:
Mr. Schlafly's motion, seconded by Mr. Savage, to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2026 meeting was approved.
There was no public comment.
Chief Executive Officer's Report:
Mr. McGuire noted that the Library had conducted an annual food drive in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. Since the Library no longer collects fines for overdues, patrons bringing in food is now entirely voluntary, and over 2.5 tons of food was brought in to the Library to be distributed to those in need.
The New York Philharmonic found a rare music program included in our online collections and requested to feature it as part of an exhibit hosted in Geffen Hall in New York. Signup for the Library's remarkable summer camp program began today, and over half of the openings in the 70 camps were filled by noon, which speaks for the popularity of the program.
Cash and Investments: Total Cash and Investments as of January 31, 2026 was $49.3M which was $1.2M higher than January 2025, and $17.8M higher than December 2025. In January we received both the November and December tax payments which is the primary cause of the monthly increase.
Revenue: Mr. Slattery reported that Gross Tax Revenue for Real Estate, Personal Property and Surtax for the month was $8.2M which was $912k higher than January 2025. Through four months this fiscal year, those sources of funding are $1.66M higher than last year at this time. The Real Estate Surtax has already exceeded this FY26 budget. We received notice and payment for the Machinery and Equipment tax in January, but booked it in December since it was for the quarter ending December 31, 2025. That payment was $366 lower than last year's payment. The quarter ending December 31 has historically been the largest payment from that funding source, and with a large budgeted increase due to the assessed values, I am trying to find out additional information from the License Collector's Office regarding
expectations for the remainder of the year. As expected, YTD Interest Income is $128k lower than last year, but tracking right on budget. Total FY26 revenue YTD is $33.4M and $2.46M higher than last year through January.
Expenses: Through four months the Library should be approximately 33.3% of the Operating Budget. Currently, this fiscal year to date, the Library's Operating Expense of $10.5M is 32.8% of the FY26 Operating Budget. Last year through four months, the Library had spent 34.8% of FY25's actual expenses. The only line item that is over budget is the Technology Software & Security. We are reviewing the expenses, but it appears during the budgeting process, Mr. Slattery moved some of the equipment requests to Capital. Year to date for Capital Expenses, the Library has spent $913k less than last year, but that decrease is due to the finishing of major projects early in FY25 in addition to the large amount of Capital Expenditures that will occur in the next few months at Julia Davis.
Justin Struttmann reported on construction progress at Julia Davis and Cabanne, which is proceeding on schedule and continues to indicate May reopenings will be possible.
Jen Wiese reported that Human Resources is using this slow period in activity to redesign the Board report.
The Foundation gala will be Saturday, and reservations have been closed as capacity has been reached.
Mr Schlafly's motion, seconded by Mr. Savage that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss personnel and legal matters was unanimously approved by roll call vote.
The Board went into Executive Session at 5:55 p.m.
At 6:15 the Board came out of Executive Session. Ms. North-Murphy moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Mr. Land. The motion was approved unanimously.
At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Public Library on March 2, 2026, the following actions were taken:
| Mr. Schlafly moved: | that the Board approve the minutes of the February 2, 2026 meeting. MOTION APPROVED (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Mr. Schlafly moved: |
that the the Board go into Executive Session to discuss personnel and legal matters. MOTION APPROVED by roll call vote (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
| Ms. North-Murphy moved: | that the meeting be adjourned. (In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.) |
that the meeting be adjourned.
(In favor Mr. Volpe, Mr. Savage, Mr. Dubinsky, Mr. Land, Ms. North-Murphy, Ms. Rainford, Mr. Schlafly, and Mr. Sweeney.)