2/12/08 OLC Board Approves 2008 Budget
At its meeting on January 18, the OLC Board of Directors approved the annual operating budget for the association. It includes projections of $1,543,550 in revenue and $1,522,754 in expenses.
Membership dues, including institutional (library), individual, Associate, and Friends memberships, will once again represent the major income source for the OLC at nearly 63% of the total revenue budget. Income from educational programming, including the five Conferences, Expo, six Chapter Conferences, Training @ OLC sessions, and unit workshops, will constitute another 30% of the budget. Publications sales and income from miscellaneous sources such as the OLC's investments will account for the remaining 7% of the revenue budget.
On the expense side of the ledger, compensation (salaries and benefits) for 11 staff members accounts for nearly 50% of the annual operating budget. Although modest increases in salaries are planned, double-digit percentage increases are projected for employee health insurance and the costs of other benefits. Other operating expenses will be maintained this year at levels close to or just slightly more than 2007, including consultants and contractors (12% of budget), supplies and resources (1.5%), communications (3%), printing (4.5%), and maintenance and equipment (1.5%).
A significant budget expense item for the OLC is the cost of its headquarters office space. The costs of leasing space in the Easton area continues to escalate, especially as initial county property tax abatements on newer buildings, such as the one currently occupied by the OLC, expire or are revised. In an effort to be more fiscally responsible, the OLC headquarters office will be relocated by the end of September 2008 (see relocation article). In the first three quarters of the year, however, the cost of office space will be a significant portion of the total space rental costs, amounting for over 8% of the total expense budget.
Travel cost reimbursement – for the OLC leadership, volunteers, and staff – will account for almost 5% of the expense budget. And, finally, miscellaneous costs will account for just over 14% of the expense budget and include items such as: the cost of meals at professional development programs, Legislative Day (charged back through registration fees), lunches for division and committee meetings, and the five professional development Conferences; bank fees; equipment depreciation; etc.
Several steps have been taken to keep expenses in check in 2008. For example, the OLC Leadership Conference, which had traditionally been a two-day event, will be pared back to one full day. This move will eliminate one meal event, saving nearly $7,300 in related expenses and, as a result, reducing registration fees as much as $30 per person. In addition, the change will eliminate the need for overnight stays for many attendees. Also, this being a non-budget year for the state of Ohio, the need for outside legislative assistance is reduced and will save the OLC approximately $9,000 in 2008.
In the end, if plans go according to budget, the OLC will have another positive budget year in 2008 and assets should once again be contributed to the association's reserves – making funds available to be reinvested in programs and projects that will benefit the OLC membership and Ohio 's public library community.
OLC Budget Summary
| Revenue |
Budget |
| Dues |
$ 969,600 |
| Publications |
$ 8,850 |
| Continuing Education |
$ 463,600 |
| Other Income |
$ 101,500 |
| Total |
$1,543,550 |
| Expenses |
Budget |
| Salaries & Benefits |
$ 766,306 |
| Consultants & Contractors |
$ 179,420 |
| Supplies and Resource Materials |
$ 24,750 |
| Communications |
$ 46,891 |
| Printing & Typesetting |
$ 68,975 |
| Maintenance & Equipment |
$ 21,550 |
| Space Rental |
$ 127,325 |
| Travel |
$ 70,865 |
| Miscellaneous |
$ 216,672 |
| Total |
$ 1,522,754 |
