HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009 Resolution No. 079•
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RES LUTIO NO . -21
SERIES OF 2009
A RESOLlrrION AUTHORIZING THE EN GLEWOOD PUBLJ C LIBRARY TO
IMPL EMENT THE ANNUAL "WINTER FOOD FOR FINES" PROGRAM FR OM MONDAY ,
NOVEMBE R 30 , 2009 THROUGH SUNDAY, DECEMBE R 13, 2009.
WHEREAS , the Englewood Pub li c Library has sponsored a "Food for Fines" pro1,'l'am since
1990; and
WHEREAS, the "Food for Fines" program all ows patron s with ove rdue fin es to 11pay " them
off through th e donation of non-perishable food items ; and
WHEREAS, the food items are th en forwarded to the Int erFai th Comm unit y Servi ces for their
"food bank" distribution to financial ly di sadvantaged families in the Englewood area; and
WHEREAS , the program is a benefit to the community in that th e disadvantaged are assis ted;
the air cleared wi th respect to fines; and the City receives its library material s back and the
program presents a positive image of th e Library and the City .
NOW, THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNC il., OF THE CITY OF
ENGLEWOOD, COLO RADO , THAT :
Section I . The Englewood City Council hereb y auth ori zes the Eng lewood Publi c Library 's
impl ementation of the annual "Winter Food For Fines" program fro m November 30 , 2009
through Decemb er 13, 2009. The coll ected food wi ll then be forwarded to th e Inte rFaiU1
Communit y Services for di stribution to fina ncial ly di~advantaged famili es in the Englewood area .
ADOPTED AND APPROVED thi s 2nd day of November, 2009 .
I, Louerishia A. Elli s, Ci ty Clctk for ~Cit y of Eng lewood, Co
above is a true copy of Resol uti on No . :J.7.-.-, Series of 20 .
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COU NCIL COMMUNICATION
Date :
Nove mb e r 2, 2009
Initi ated By:
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Age nd a Item :
9 C i
, ib·ary Dep•• tmen t
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Subje ct:
Englewood Pub lic Li bra ry's "Wi nt er Food fo r Fi nes"
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Staff Source :
Hank Long, Dire ctor of Library Serv ice s
COUNCIL GOAL AND PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION
The Library has sponsored this pop ul ar pro gram si nce 1990, and each yea r th e City Co un cil has
vo iced its support. In 2003 , the annua l Fo od for Fines prog ram was ex pan de d to tw ice a yea r at
th e requ es t of th e Library Boa rd, and subse qu entl y approv ed by City Coun cil, for two wee ks during
the sum me r as we ll as two weeks betwee n Thanksg iv in g and Chris tm as as a way to mitigat e th e
increase in Overdue Library Fin es and as a way to enco ura ge th e time ly return of li brary mat erial s
so th at th ey ca n be used by more peo ple . Th e two weeks of th e Summ er Food for Fines prog ram
cove rs the las t week of the publi c schoo l ye ar and th e fir st week of vacations, a tim e durin g which
stud ents and teac hers are clea ning out their desks and loc kers in prepara tion fo r th e summer break
and num ero us ove rdue Library ,,,ateri als are loca ted, whereas th e two we eks of the Winter Fo od for
Fines progra m traditiona ll y covers th e pe ri od in betwe en th e Th anksgi ving and Chri stm as holida ys .
Hi stori ca ll y, eac h of th es e two bi annu al eve nts raises an estimated $1 ,5 00 to $2,000 in do nated
non-peri sha ble fo od it ems fo r th e Int erfaith Commun ity Serv ices foo d ba nk.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Th e Li brary De partm ent recomm end s City Co uncil app rove a reso lu ti on auth o ri zin g th e Library
Departm ent to imp lement its 2009 Wi nt er Food for Fines pr og ram fr om Monday, November 30
th ro ugh Sunday, December 13, 2009 .
BACKGROUND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED
Fo r th e pa st 19 yea rs, th e En glewood Pu blic Library has provid ed its "Foo d fo r Fin es" prog ram as a
way fo r th ose pat rons with fin es on the ir ove rdu e Library mat eria ls to "pa y" th em off thr ough th e
dona ti on of non-pe ri s!,,:ble fo od items th at are, in turn, forwarde d to Interfaith Community
Services fo r th eir "food b.,nk " di stri buti on to fin ancia ll y disadva ntag ed fa m;l ies in th e Englewood
area. Foll owing 2003 's in crease in maxi mum Overd ue Fine s fr om $2 to $5, th e Libr ary Board
requ es ted th at th e numb er of food items requir ed to pay off a sin gle Overd ue charg e als o be
in crease d beg innin g wit h th e 200 4 Wint er Food fo r Fin es progra m, e.g. ii now take s two food items
to ca nce l out the late cha rges (no t los t or dam aged charges ) on one overdu e it em. Th ese food
it ems mu st be pr ese nted to th e Lib rary Staff at the Circul ati on Des k in order fo r th e fin es to be
clea red fr om th e patron's comput er record . Th is program has been wa rml y re ceived and sup por ted
by the pub li c sin ce its incep tion, an d Library pa tr ons now loo k forwa rd to ii as a way of helping
others whil e reli ev in g th eir ow n fin anci al obliga tions . Thu~, th e prog ram pr ese n~s a posi ti ve im age
of th e Li bra ry and th e Ci ty and is a "win-wi n" situ ation fo r everyone in vo lved.
>= '" ""'"'~ "" •-"" ,,.,a w .. ,~,.d ., ... , <• ,,.,.,d ~•o••"'"' io,d
items to assist needy fami lies in th e Englewood area.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
"'' ~"" .. , .. """" .~~· ~"' ~·· .. , ... "'"~·· ,, .. ..,.,,. '""'"" '"' """ '" "'"' """'"' , .. "'"' ""'"'' ....... , ... ,., ............. '""""' .,. '" ..
O<i• c,,o,I "'°" o,o, ,_,. "'""°"'" '"" ,,~, ,.,. "'°"' ~rn O"' ""''"' = week f ood for fines pr ogra ms, but th e loss is more than offset by th e 'go od will" this pr ogra m
... ~•· .~ .. '""" "'""" '"'Sy ....... ""''" ....... """'" ....... " ...
oth ers can use th em.
UST Of ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
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