Monthly Operating Financial Report

BUFFALO & ERIE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY OPERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS

The Board of Trustees of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL) regularly receives and reviews financial reports to monitor the System's budget.  Each report includes a background statement providing an overview of the Library's financial position and explaining key variances or other items of note.

The B&ECPL is a federated library system.  It directly operates public library services within the City of Buffalo (Buffalo Branch Libraries and the County's Central Library); provides library material, technology, supplies and other library system services to all public and association libraries in Erie County; and provides the principal operating funding for member libraries located outside of Buffalo via contract.  As such, these financial reports include only those funds flowing through B&ECPL and do not include funds raised and spent directly by the suburban contract member libraries.

For example, the fine revenue reported is only that collected through Buffalo Branches and the Central Library which are directly operated by the B&ECPL.  Likewise expenses only include those that flow through B&ECPL.   This is a broader group as it includes the salary and benefit expense for all contract member libraries outside Buffalo as they participate in the Centralized Human Resources (CHR) program, as well as all operating expenses for Buffalo Branches, the Central Library, and System services.  The report does not include other operating expense spent directly by any contract member library (for example minor repairs).

Under CHR, the B&ECPL System administers payroll and benefits in cooperation with Erie County and using the County's SAP financial system.  These expenses are paid through the SAP personnel and fringe benefit accounts rather than through a quarterly contract payment.  As of January 2009, all contract member libraries participate in the CHR program.

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