(A) The Board of Trustees of the Fort Madison Public Libraries hereinafter referred to as the Board, shall consist of nine members. Eight of the members of the Board shall be residents of the city, one shall be a non-resident member.
(B) All appointments to the Board shall be for six years, except to fill vacancies. Appointments shall be made every two years of one-third the total number, to stagger the terms.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)
Statutory reference:
Related provisions, see Iowa Code § 336.5
The Board shall have and exercise the following powers and duties:
(A) To meet and elect from its members a President, a Secretary and such other officers as it deems necessary. The City Treasurer shall serve as Board Treasurer, but shall not be a member of the Board;
(B) To have charge, control and supervision of the public library, its appurtenances, fixtures and room containing the same;
(C) To direct and control all the affairs of the library;
(D) To employ a librarian, and authorize the librarian to employ such assistants and employees as may be necessary for the proper management of the library, and fix their compensation; provided, however, that, prior to such employment, the compensation of the librarian, assistants and employees shall have been fixed and approved by a majority of the members of the Board voting in favor thereof;
(E) To remove by a two-thirds vote of the Board the librarian and provide procedures for the removal of assistants or employees for misdemeanor, incompetency or inattention of duty, subject, however, to the provisions of the Code of Iowa;
(F) To select, or authorize the librarian to select, and make purchase of books, pamphlets, magazines, periodicals, papers, maps, journals, audiovisual materials, other library materials, furniture, fixtures, stationery and supplies for the library within budgetary limits set by the Board;
(G) To authorize the use of the library by non- residents of the city and to fix charges therefor;
(H) To make and adopt, amend, modify or repeal rules and regulations, not inconsistent with ordinances and the law, for the care, use, government and management of the library and the business of the Board, fixing and enforcing penalties for violations;
(I) To have exclusive control of the expenditure of all funds allocated for library purposes by the Council, and of all monies available by gift or otherwise for the erection of library buildings, under the rules of the Board. All other monies belonging to the library including fines and rentals collected will be deposited in the General Fund of the city;
(J) To accept gifts or real property, personal property or mixed property, and devises and bequests, including trust funds; to take the title to said property in the name of the library; to execute deeds and bills of sale for the conveyance of said property; and to expend the funds received by them from such gifts for the improvement of the library;
(K) To keep a record of its proceedings; and
(L) To enforce the performance of conditions on gifts, donations, devises and bequests that will benefit the library and have been accepted by action of the City Council.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)
(A) Contracting. The Board may contract with any other boards of trustees of free public libraries, any other city, school corporation, private or semi- private organization, institution of higher learning, township or county, or with the trustees of any county library district for the use of the library by their respective residents.
(B) Termination. Such a contract may be terminated at any time by mutual consent of the contracting parties. It also may be terminated by a majority vote of the electors represented by either of the contracting parties. Such a termination proposition shall be submitted to the electors by the governing body of a contracting party on a written petition of not less than 5% in number of the electors who voted for Governor in the territory of the party at the last general election. The petition must be presented to the governing body not less than 40 days before the election. The proposition may be submitted at any election provided by law that is held in the territory of the party who is seeking to terminate the contract.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)
The Board may authorize use of the library by non-residents in any one or more of the following ways:
(A) By lending the books or other materials of the library to non-residents on the same terms and conditions as to residents of the city, or upon payment of a special, non-resident library fee;
(B) By establishing depositories of library books or other materials to be loaned to non-residents;
(C) By establishing bookmobiles or a traveling library so that books or other library materials may be loaned to non-residents; and/or
(D) By establishing branch libraries for lending books or other library materials to non-residents.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)
All money appropriated by the Council from the General Fund for the operation and maintenance of the library shall be set aside in an account for the library. Expenditures shall be paid for only on orders of the Board, signed by its President and Secretary.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)
The Board shall make a report to the City Council immediately after the close of the city’s fiscal year. This report shall contain statements of the condition of the library, the number of books added thereto, the number circulated, the amount of fines collected and the amount of money expended in the maintenance of the library during the year, together with such further information as may be required by the Council. Reports shall also be made from time to time as the Board deems advisable or upon Council request.
(Ord. D-047, passed 11-21-2017)