HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010 Resolution No. 036•
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RESOLUTION No .----3&
SERIES OF 20 10
A RESOLUTI ON AUT HORI Z LNG T HE ENGLEWOO D PUBLI C LLBRAR Y TO
IMP LEM ENT TH E "SUMMER 1-'0OD FO R FLN ES " PROGRAM FROM MONDAY ,
M .1\ Y 24 THRO UG H SUNDA Y, JUNE 6 . 20 10 .
\1/HEREAS , t he Englewood Publi c Lib rary has sponsored a "Food for Fines" program s in ce
1990:and
'WHEREAS, th e "Food fo r Fines" p rogram a ll ows patron s with overdue fjnes on their o verdu e
li brary materia ls to "pay" them off through th e do nati o n of no n-perisha bl e food items ; a nd
WHEREA S , th e food item s are then forwarded to the LnterFaith Communit y Services for th eir
"food bank"' di stribution to f111 ancia ll y di sadvantaged fam ili es in th e Eng lewood area ; and
V. HEREAS. th e program is a benefit to th e co mmunity in that th e di sadvant aged a re assis ted;
the a ir c lear ed wi th respect to fi nes ; the C ity receives it s lib ra ry materi a ls back and the program
presents a pos itive image of the Library and the Cit y.
NOW. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED B Y TH E C ITY COUNC IL OF THE C ITY OF
ENG L EWOOD, COLORADO, THAT:
Secti o n I . The Eng lewood C it y Counci l he re by auth ori zes th e Englewood Publi c Library's
impl ementati o n o f the "Swnmer Fo o d Fo r Fi nes" program fro m Mo nday, May 24, thro ugh
Sunday, Jun e 6, 2010. T he co ll ected fo od wi ll th en be forwarded to the lmerFa ith Communit y
Serv ices fo r di stributi o n to financ iall y di sadva nt aged fa mili es in t he Englewood area.
ADO PTED /'\ND A PPR OVE D thi s 3 rd da y ,,f May. 20 I 0 .
Ja mes K. Woodward. Mayor
I. Lo uc ri s hi a A. Elli s, Cit y C lerk for ~hr C it y o f Eng lewood. o loracl o, he reb y cc11ify the
ab ove is a tru e copy o f Reso luti o n No . .2V-, Series o f 20 I 0 . / _
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COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
Date: Agenda Item: Subject:
M ay 3, 20 10 9 Ci Engl ewood Public Library's "2010 Summ e r Food
for Fin es"
Initiated By: Staff Source:
Library D e partment Hank Lo ng, Direc t o r oi Libra ry Serv ices
COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
The Library has sponsored thi s popular program sin ce 1 990, a nd each yea r th e City Counci l has
r.o ntinually voice d its support. In 2003, th e annual Food for Fine s program was expanded t o twice
a yea r at th e re ques t of the Library Boa rd, and subs equently approved by City Council, for two
weeks during the summer as we ll as two weeks betwee n Thanksgiving and Christmas as a way to
mitigate the in c r ease in O verdu e Library Fines and as a way to encourage the timely return of EPL
materials so that they ca n be use d by m ore p eo pl e. Th e two weeks of th e Summer Food for Fines
program covers the las t w eek of th e public school y ear and the f;•s t w eek of vacati o ns, a tim e
during w hic h students and tea c hers are cl eaning o ut their d esks and lockers in preparation for th e
summer break and numerous overdue Library materials are located, whereas th e two weeks of th e
Wint er Food for Fines program traditi o nall y cove rs th e period between th e Tha nksgi v ing a nd
Christmas h o lidays. H is tori ca ll y, eac h of th ese two biannual even ts rai ses an average o f $1 ,5 00 t o
$2 ,000 i n d o nated non-pe rish able food items for th e lnterFaith C o mmunity Services food bank.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Th e Library D e p a rtm e nt reco mm ends C ity Counci l appr ove a reso luti o n auth o rizin g th e Lib ra ry
Departm ent to imp le m ent its 20 70 Summer Food for Fin es program fr o m Monday, M ay 2 4 thro u gh
Sund ay, Jun e 6, 20 10.
BACKGROUND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED
For th e pas t 20 yea rs, th e En glewood Pub li c Libra: y has provided its "Food for Fines " program as a
way fo r th ose pa tro n s w ith fin es o n th eir overdu e EPL mate ri als to "pay" th e m o ff th rou gh th e
dona ti o n of n on-perish able fo o d item s th at are, in turn, forwa rd ed t o l n ter Fa ith Communi ty Se rv ices
fo r th e ir "food bank" distributi o n to finan c iall y di sa dvantage d fami li es in th e Engl ewood a rea.
Fo ll owi ng 2003's in r ease in maximum O v •rdu e Fin es from $2 to $5, th e Library Board req u es ted
th at th e numbe r of food item s required to pay off a sin gle Overdu e c h arg e als o be in c rease d
b eginning w ith th e 2004 Winte r Food fo r Fin es program, e.g. it no w takes two food item s to ca n ce l
o ut th e la te c harges (n ot los t o r damaged c harges) on o n e overdue item. Th ese food items must be
presented t o th e Library Staff at th e C irc ul ation D esk in order for th e fines to b e clea re d fro m th e
patron 's co mputer reco rd . Th is program has b ee n wa rmly rece ive d and supported by th e pub lic
• sin ce its in ce p ti o n, and Lib rary pa tro n s n ow look forwa rd to it as a way o f h e lpin g o th ers wh il e
r e lieving their own financial obligations. Thus, the program presents a positive image of the Library •
an d th e Ci ty and is a "win-win " situation for everyone in volve d .
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Since its in ception , thi s program has raised an es timat ed $40,500 in donated non-perishabl e food
i tems to assist n ee d y fam ili es in the Englewood area.
The money that the Library coll ects each month in "late charges" (i.e. charges on books and o th er
EPL it ems returned past th e ir origina l "due date" and past th e 3 day "grace period") goes to the
City's General Fun d. These re ve nues traditionally drop about 50% during each of the Library 's two-
week Food for Fines programs, but the loss is m o re th an offset by the "good will " this program
generates among Library patrons and by getting the Librar; materials back on the shelves so that
o thers can USP th em.
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
Proposed Res o luti o n
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