The King County library system's budget plan for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is $45,000,000. The budget allocated to salaries increased by 3.9% and the budget for benefits increased by 7.5%. The materials budget makes up the largest part of the allocated funds for the 2014 fiscal year.
The King County library system's budget plan for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is $45,000,000. The budget allocated to salaries increased by 3.9% and the budget for benefits increased by 7.5%. The materials budget makes up the largest part of the allocated funds for the 2014 fiscal year.
The King County library system's budget plan for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is $45,000,000. The budget allocated to salaries increased by 3.9% and the budget for benefits increased by 7.5%. The materials budget makes up the largest part of the allocated funds for the 2014 fiscal year.
I am originally from Seattle and as I was looking online for some
examples of library operating budgets available to the public I came
across the King County Library Systems budget plan for the 20132014 fiscal year. King County is the county I grew up in and encompasses the greater Seattle area, and its budget plan is the plan I will be examining in this paper. The King County budget plan appears to utilize a line-item or incremental budget plan. Incremental budget planning utilizes past periods figures and allocates funds according to past numbers. Managers will increase or decrease funds by a certain percentage that are allotted towards a certain area based on the results achieved in past periods (Budgeting, 225). On page 14 of the King County budget plan, a chart indicates that the total budget for the 2014 fiscal year is $45,000,000. The chart also shows the budget for 2013 and the forecasted budget for 2015. One can see that the budget for the 2014 fiscal year in each various area in which funds are allocated has been increased by a certain percentage from 2013 and again is projected to increase by a lesser amount for the 2015 year. The main source of revenue discussed in the plan is growth in property valuations. Due to an improving economy and low inflation, the budget plans for 5-7% of growth in revenues due to property valuations and opportunities for targeted investments (12). Discussed as sources of expenditure but ultimately meant to be sources of revenue are budget costs such as adult programming, choice reads, and bibliocommons (5). KCLS allocated $56,000 for the three above-mentioned programs that were intended to increase patron participation in and awareness of library activities and events, thus ultimately resulting in increased patron library usage. The major expenditures budgeted for the King County Library system in 2014 are salaries ($47,286,380), personal benefits ($17,276,618), and materials ($11,378,655). The budget allocated to salaries increased by 3.9% and the budget for benefits increased by 7.5%. This may reflect positive employee retention or an increase in number of hires during the 2013/2014 fiscal year. The materials budget makes up the largest part of the allocated funds for the 2014 fiscal year after the employee salaries and benefits; materials would include core expenditures for the library system such as books, journals and other resources that are not included specifically in the budget. The total budget for 2014 for the KCLS is $45,000,000, which increased from $42,600,000 from 2013. Major changes in the budget are the increase in salary and benefits, as well as an increase in programs and building leases. The budget for programs increased by 13.2% from 2013 to 2014 and the budget for building leases increased by 10.9%. The KCLS
document discusses that a large portion of the budget will be allocated
to new programs such as CommunityConnect ($15,000) and Lets Read! (over $50,000) that are meant to get new patrons and young children involved and active with libraries throughout the Seattle region (2). The primary fixed expenses for the library system are also the major expenditures: salaries and personal benefits. Though new hires may be introduced periodically, the number of employees that a library or company has is typically constant and salary payments can be planned for in advance. Employee benefits are also fixed and can be budgeted at the beginning of the fiscal year. Other major fixed costs include utilities and insurance. Variable expenditures include repair and maintenance, supplies and advertising. Advertising may vary depending on what new programs and events arise throughout the year and how much the library decides to advertise each one and where. Typical problems that frequently arise that cannot be planned for are library building maintenance issues that may require parts to be replaced or refurnished; additionally, supplies purchased for libraries will be affected by normal wear and tear by users and will regularly need to be replaced. Such expenses may not be fixed but should be considered in the budget. The KCLS document is mainly narrative that concludes with two pages of budget charts. The narrative explains the major goals for the library system for the 2014 fiscal year as illustrated in the charts at the end. Initially the document discusses the new programs that King County would like to develop in order to increase patron knowledge of and interaction with Seattle-wide libraries. The budget document continues to discuss highlights of the budget expenditures, including the purchase of updated book titles and eBooks, electronic programs being implemented, new staff and training development programs, and new building development initiatives. The plan successfully walks through the budget numbers for the 2014 fiscal year, discusses how the library system intends to achieve those numbers through the implementation of new programs and by spending money on what resources, and ultimately projects a fiscal plan for the following two years. Sources: http://www.kcls.org/about/budget/2014%20Final%20Budget %20WEB.pdf
Budgeting. (2004). Managers toolkit: the 13 skills managers need to