Turning the page: Library district emerges stronger after years of cost reduction
Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Executive Director Dr. Ronald R. Heezen said half of the district's employees who were laid off due to the 2008 recession have been rehired. And increased staffing isn't the only bright spot in the district's future: He said the libraries are now in a financial position to better meet the community's needs.
"Years of cost reduction, expenditure management and personnel cost containment have paid off for the district," he said in a press release. "We are now in a position to build its capacity to meet community needs, while maintaining a prudent ending fund balance."
The district's Board of Trustees adopted the fiscal year 2015-16 budget — effective July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016 — at its May 21 board meeting. The budget's general operating fund is $59.5 million.
The plan provides for a library materials budget of $8.8 million ’ a $700,000 increase from last year due to increased usage — and input from the community indicated it wanted more digital materials.
The Capital Projects Fund takes into consideration the cost of construction for a Mesquite Library, the implementation of a building repair and maintenance program to address aging facilities and technology upgrades. The district also is looking to build a 35,000-square-foot East Las Vegas branch. It has a 6-acre site at Sunrise Avenue and 28th Street but is eyeing an 8.5-acre site at Bonanza Road and 28th Street that is on a major bus route. A land swap with the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority is being considered.
Heezen called the area around the East Las Vegas site a "long underserved area, a doughnut of nonservice."
On the job for 10 months, Heezen said he accepted the position because the district had proved itself to be well-run.
"I was excited to come here because it had been so well-managed," he said. "You don't want to come into a library as the new director and be the one who has to face all the problems because of bad management."
Karen Bramwell-Thomas, district public relations manager, said she appreciates seeing the possibility of the East Las Vegas branch coming to fruition.
"I've been hearing about this doughnut hole since I started 25 years ago," she said of the proposed branch, "so I'll be excited to see that take place."
"We're trying to evaluate which positions do we need at this point and moving forward," Heezen said of the district's staffing needs. He admitted the district was "behind in some areas."
"For example, he said, "we weren't able to maintain our fleet as we had in the past, so now our vehicles are a little bit older than we’d like to see. But, again, approaching it conservatively, we've begun the process of slow replacement, and in four or five years, we'll have a fleet that's as it needs to be."
If money were no issue, what problems would he address?
"I mention the vehicles, but our buildings as well, they're aging," he said. "We're keeping up with the maintenance — we had a schedule for upgrading buildings, and our board members were very good at focusing my attention (to issues). Randy Ence in Mesquite was very good about saying, 'Look at our library and look at Laughlin. We're behind here.' My predecessors had that on the agenda, but because of the economy, that was not going to happen. Now that we're out of the recession, we can focus on getting service to (those in need), and that's got to be one of our biggest accomplishments and challenges."
View visited the Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Drive, to find a crew making final touches to the former art gallery, which was renovated in June. John Vino, assistant general services director, said the district was converting it to a homework help/study center.
"There was a request from the branch manager based on the demand," he said. "It's laptop-based, so kids can plug in their own devices. That's why all the outlets are along the wall."
"It used to be libraries were designed with, like, 'Oh, you need a plug in the wall every 8 feet,' " Heezen said. "We just got done spending several hundred thousand dollars adding plugs to locations. If we just designed buildings appropriately, then we'll be ready for any change in technology or change in service that comes our way. And that's what we're trying to do very carefully."
Bramwell-Thomas said the homework help/study center would better serve the community.
"The teen center at Sahara West is working well, but here we took out the gallery and made it a homework help center," she said as she watched the changes being made at Rainbow. "We did a survey and found we (served) a lot of parents with children, so, here, it's a kids' center, not just for teens."
The space includes diner-style bench seats, movable panels to section off an area for privacy and counter space along the walls for eight laptops. It will be used for the district's Homework Help program.
Jacob Strong, 15, was tutoring Tristan Molnar, 9, in math in the main library area as people were walking past, looking for books. He said he was glad to hear of the new space dedicated to young people.
"It would be easier so you don't have a lot of distraction around you so you can focus on tutoring and learning," he said. "And it'll be nice to have the laptops in there, in case you need to pull up a worksheet or something."
The Summerlin Library, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, also received carpet, paint and rubber flooring to help with long-term maintenance.
The district serves 1.5 million people over an area of 8,000 square miles through 25 branches and online access. It offers more than 2.8 million books, magazines, downloadable materials, CDs and DVDs, as well as free programs including author visits, music and dance programs, children’s activities, and computer and English as a second language classes and workshops.
The district is an independent taxing entity that levies and collects its own taxes, with 92 percent of its revenue coming from a combination of property taxes and the consolidated sales tax.
If rated one to 10, with 10 being best, how would Heezen rate his district?
"We're an 11," he joked. "No, really, I'm so proud of what this staff has accomplished. They make me look good."
For more information, visit lvccld.org.
To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.
