Budget & Finance Policy

The Ashtabula County District Library has a board-approved written budget. This budget is developed annually as a cooperative process between the board's finance committee, the library director, and additional staff members with responsibility for budgetary elements. Each year, the board of trustees determines if the library's revenues are adequate to meet the needs of the community. If the revenues are not adequate to meet the needs of the community, the board of trustees takes action to increase the library's revenue.

• The Ashtabula County District Library seeks to spend a minimum of 10% of its operating budget on materials for patrons. Materials include print books and periodicals, electronic books and periodicals, both hard copy and electronic audiovisual materials, databases, and devices for remote patron internet access (mobile hotspots). Costs related to the installation and maintenance of a Local Area Network (LAN) or a shared or stand-alone Integrated Library System (ILS) are not included.
• On a monthly basis the library director presents written reports on library operations to the board of trustees. These reports may include such areas as finance, library usage, matters of personnel, collection development, and programming in addition to any other relevant and pertinent information.
• The library maintains adequate records of library operations in a manner easily understood by the public as well as the board of trustees and library director. This record of library operations is presented at each board of trustee monthly meeting and clearly indicates the financial position of the library. In addition to the general financial position of the library, this record clearly indicates the current position of each budgetary line item including budgeted amount, receipts, monthly and year to date expenditures, and remaining budget.