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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003 Resolution No. 084• • RES OLUT IO, NO . al SE RIE S OF 2003 - A RES OLUT ION AUTH ORI ZING THE ENULEWOOD PUBLI C Lll3RARY TO IMPLEM EN T THE ANNU AL "FOOD FOR FINES" PR OG RAM FROM MO NDA Y. DECEMBER I. 2003, THR O GH S DAY . DECEMBER 14 , 2003 . WHEREAS , the Engl ewood Publi c Librarv hus sponso red a "Foo d for Fin1.:s" program during lhc November/December holi days fo r th e pas 1 tw elve yea rs: and WHER EAS, the "Foo d fo r Fines" program ull ows patrons with ove rdue fines 10 "pay" them olT th rough th e don ati on of non-peri shable food item s; and WHEREAS , th e foo d item s nrc then forwarded 10 th e ln,e rFaith Co mmunit y Servi ces for di stribution to financiall y di sndvantagcd familie s in the Eng lewood urea; and WHEREAS , the progrnm is a benefit to the commu nit y in that the di sadvan tage d are ass isted and the air cleare d with respect to fine s and the City recei ves its libra ry mate rials ba ck ; NOW , fHEREFOR E, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY CO UNCIL OF TH E CITY OF ENG LEWOOD, CO LORADO , THAT : Section I. The Englewood City Coun cil hereb y authori zes the Englew oo d Pub li c Libra ry 's implementati on of the annu al "Food For Fine s" program from December I, 2003 through Decembe r 14 , 2003 . The "Food For Fine .';" wi ll th en be fonvarded to the Interfaith Co mmunity Services fo r di stribution to fin anciall y db .advantaged families in the Englewood area . AD OPTED AND APPROVED thi s 17th of Nove mbe r, 2003. I. Lou crishia A. Elli s, Cit y Clerk foi:,!~r Cit y of Engic 11ood. :ibovc is a true co py of Rc so hHi on No.~Scrics of 200 3. ,,, . • • • COUNCIL COMMUNICATION Date: Agenda Item: Subject : November ! 7, 1003 11 Ci Englewood Pu bli c Lib rary's 2003 "Win ter Food fo r Fines" Pr ogram -Initiated ~y: Library D epa r\men t I Staff Source: H ank Long, Directo r of Library Servi ces COUMll (;; Al. Mm PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTIQN Th e '.ibrary has spo nsored thi s p opular program durin g th e November/D ece m be r holidays fo r th e pas t 13 years, and each year th e City Counc il has vo ice d its su pport. Thi s yea r for th e first tim e, th e "Food for Fin es " was ex pand ed at the requ es t of th e Libra ry Boa rd to cover two weeks durin g th e summ er as well as two weeks at th e end of the ca lendar yea r as a way to mitiga te th e inc rease in O ve rdue Library Fin es that w ent into effec t on M ay 30 and also as a way to encourage th e ti m ely return of EPL ma teri als so that tn ey ca n be use d by m ore p eople. City Coun ci l subsequentl y approve d thi s requ es t at th ei r Febru ary 18, 2003 mee tin g. Th e 2003 "Summ er Food for Fin es" p rogram ran Tu esd ay, May 27 th ro ugh Sun day, Jun e 8, 2003 and raise d app roxim ately $1 , I 00 in nonperi shabl e food items fo r th e Interfaith Co:nm11 nity Services Foo,1 Bank . W e an ti cipate ., s~ r,l~rlv succes sfu l wi nt er prog ram . RECOM ME NDED ACTION The Li b rary D epa rtm ent recommends City Co un cil ap prova l of a resol utio n aulhori zi ng th e Li brary D ep artm ent to implement its 2003 "Wint<-r Food fo r Fines" prog ram fro m Monday, D ecember I th ro ug1 ,unday, D ecember 14, 2003. BACK,~;.ouND, ANALYSIS, AND ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED Fo r ih e pas t 13 yea rs , the En glewood Publi c Li b rary ha s sp onsore d its "Food fo r Fin es" program during th e November/D ece mb er holidays. Th is annual program all ows patro ns w ith overdu e fi nes to "pay" th em off th ro u gh ih e donali o n of non-p eri shabl e food ilems, e.g. one food ilem ca nce ls out th e late charges (n ot lost or damage d charge s) on one overdue item. Fo od items mu st be p rese nted lo th e Li b rary Sta ff at th e Circula ti on D es k in ord er fo r th e fi nes to b e cl ea red fr om th e patro n's computer record . Th e coll ec ted food items are then fo rwarde d to Interfaith Community Services for th ei r "food bank " distributi on to fin ancia ll y disa dva ntage d fa milies in th e En glewood ar ea. Thi s p rog ram has bee n warml y rece ived by th e public si nce its in ce pti on, and Li b rary p atrons n ow look forward l o it. Be sid es p rovi ding reso urces to needy fam ilies in thi s comrn "ni ty, th e p rogram p rese nts a posi ti ve image of th e Li brary and the City, i.e . a "win-win" si tu ation for everyone involved. Th e "S ummer Foo d fo r Fi nes" program and th e "Winier Food fo r Fines" eac h ru n for a two wee k pe ri od. FINANCIAL IMPACT • Sin ce it s ince plion , thi s p rogra m has raised an es timated S 16,900 in donated food it em s to ass ist nee dy fam ili es in th e Englewood •rea . • The Library histor ica ll y averages $1 ,200-$1 ,500 per month in co ll ected "late charg es• (i.e . cha rges on books and other items re turn ed past th ei r original "du e dat e" and past th e 3 day grace • perio d). This revenu e goes int o the Ci ty's General Fund . • Hist orically, thi s amount of over du e fines has dropped to an ave rage of $800-$1 ,000 per month during our annual FFF program s whi ch means that the City loses seve ral hundr ed dollars in reve nues as a result of thi s effort. Ho weve r, th at loss is mor e than offse t by th e "good will " this program generates among Lib rary patro ns and by getti ng th e Library materials back on th e shelves fo r oth ers to use. LIST OF AHAOiMENTS • •