Bolton Small Business Information Center, Henryville, IL

15

Evan Silverstein

Bolton Small Business Information Center, Henryville, IL

February 13, 2011

Managing Information Organizations, INFO 640

Professor Deborah Turner

Table of contents

Introduction. …………………………………………………………………….………… 3

Line Item Budget ………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Program Budget …………………………………………………………………………… 5

New Service ……………………………………….………………………………………. 9

Line Item Budget with Reductions ………………….……..…………………………….. 12

References …………………………………………..…………………………………… 14

Academic Integrity Information …………………………………………………………. 15

Appendices ………………….…………………….. [See adjoining spreadsheet document.]
Introduction

The Bolton Small Business Information Center was created in 2006 by the city of Henryville, Illinois. The year prior, the city of Henryville, as a result of study on the potential benefits of small business growth (2005), added the following to its existing mission statement: “The city of Henryville shall support the creation and growth of small businesses based within its city limits.” As a result of this addition, the city also added three goals to its existing list. Those include: (1) support the continued growth of current small businesses in Henryville, (2) assist with the start-up of new small businesses in Henryville (3) alert the Henryville general public of new small businesses in Henryville. The City of Henryville (2005) defines a small business as one made up of fewer than 30 employees (p. 17). In order to fulfill this new part of the mission as well as the corresponding goals, the city created the Bolton Small Business Information Center. The namesake of the Bolton Center is Mr. John Bolton, a well-known, successful small business owner in Henryville who generously donated $75,000 towards the building of the Bolton Center. The mission and goals of the Bolton Center mirror exactly the addition to the city mission statement pertaining to small businesses and the resulting goals.

The Bolton Center is staffed by a full time Librarian ($70k per year currently), a part time Librarian Assistant ($27,400 per year currently), and a full time Library Clerk ($30k per year currently). For a list of programs and services provided by the Bolton Center, please see the “Program Budget” section below. The Bolton Center is open to use by Henryville residents and members of the Henryville city staff. Common clients include: (1) prospective small business owners, (2) current small business owner, (3) residents interested in patronizing current small businesses, (4) city staff with a professional interest in the workings of small businesses.

The fiscal year 2010-11 budget for the Bolton Center is $352,112 (detailed in Appendix A in the adjoining spreadsheet document). During this year, at the request of the new Director of Finance, the Bolton Center created a report that tied all expenditures to program goals. (Please see the “Program Budget” section below for the detailed report.)

Also during the year, the Bolton Center proposed a new outreach service in response to newfound city funds. This proposed outreach service involved the Librarian traveling to community centers around the city to lead discussions between prospective and current small business owners. The Bolton Center estimated costs for the service to be $9,581/year with benefits at a safe estimate of $50,000/year. (Please see the “New Service” section below for the detailed proposal.)

Unfortunately, this proposal was not accepted due to the retreat of available funds caused by the downturn in the economy. Presently, as a result of this downturn, the Mayor asks all units to provide a fiscal year 2011-12 budget that shows a decrease of 5% from the current fiscal year. In order to reach the desired cuts, the Bolton Center offers elimination of travel costs, large reductions in staff development, and reductions in materials purchased. (Please see the “Line Item Budget with Reductions” section below for a detailed description of proposed cuts.)

Line Item Budget

Please see Appendix A in the adjoining spreadsheet document for a line-item budget for fiscal year 2010-11.

Program Budget

Please see Appendix B in the adjoining spreadsheet document for a program budget breakdown for fiscal year 2010-11.

Henryville Small Business / Bolton Center Goals

1.  Support the continued growth of current small businesses* in Henryville

2.  Assist with the start-up of new small businesses in Henryville

3.  Alert the Henryville general public of new small businesses in Henryville

*A small business is defined by the city of Henryville as a business with less than 30 employees (2005, p. 17).

Bolton Center programs and corresponding services

1.  Reference Service

a.  In-depth Reference (supports goals 1 and 2). The Librarian answers “In-depth Reference” questions in person at the Bolton Center.

b.  Quick Reference (supports goals 1 and 2). The Librarian Assistant answers “Quick Reference” questions via email and telephone.

2.  Public Information

a.  Weekly Email Newsletter (supports goals 1, 2, and 3). The newsletter is prepared and sent by the Librarian Assistant after approval and editing by the Librarian. It includes announcement of new small businesses in Henryville, information about existing small businesses in Henryville, a listing of small business grants, and general “helpful hints” for small business owners.

b.  Small business “Frequently Asked Questions” Document (supports goals 1 and 2). The “FAQ” is housed on the City of Henryville website (http://www.henryville.gov/smallbusiness/faq) and updated quarterly. The library clerk accumulates the data collected through online and print surveys administered to patrons. The accumulated data is processed by the Library Assistant who comes with up with new questions and answers them for the document. The Librarian edits the document.

3.  Collection Management

a.  Purchasing of Print Resources (supports goals 1 and 2). The Librarian Assistant recommends additions to the print collection. The Librarian approves the final list of items to be ordered. The Librarian Assistant places the orders, and the Librarian catalogues the items once they arrive.

b.  Subscription to Online Information Services (supports goals 1 and 2). The Librarian is responsible for ordering and cataloguing any new subscriptions to online resources.

4.  Collection Circulation

a.  Print Item Checkout (supports goals 1 and 2). Under the supervision of the Librarian, the Library Clerk is responsible for maintaining records of any items circulating to patrons.

b.  Print Item Re-shelving (supports goals 1 and 2). Under the supervision of the Librarian, the Library Clerk is responsible for re-shelving any items returning to or used within the Bolton Center.

Note: Program headings are derived from those originally used by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2011).

Please see Appendix E in the adjoining spreadsheet document for a helpful table linking programs and services to the city and Bolton Center goals pertaining to small business growth.

Explanation of division of budget among programs (corresponding to Appendix B)

Subscriptions and books: All of the funds allocated towards this category go towards the purchasing of print resources and subscriptions to online information services.

Supplies: Supplies are split among all program categories. The reference services are the services requiring the most active time and material commitment. Therefore, a higher proportion has been assigned to the reference service program category.

Phone, fax, postage: The use of phone, fax, and postage is split among all program categories. The reference services are the services requiring the most active time and material commitment. Therefore, a higher proportion has been assigned to the reference service program category.

Staff travel: Twice yearly, the Librarian and the Librarian Assistant attend the Small Business Development Conference. All staff travel funds go towards the travel expenses for this trip. The knowledge learned by attending this conference is used in the development of better strategies for reference services and collection management.

Salaries/Fringe benefits: The majority of the Librarian’s time is taken up by fulfilling reference responsibilities. Much of the Librarian’s salary ($70k), therefore, goes towards this program category. This category also includes much of the Librarian Assistant’s yearly pay ($27,400), as roughly half of the Librarian Assistant’s time is dedicated towards reference. The public information program duties are mainly left to the Librarian Assistant with some supervision by the Librarian and support from the Library Clerk. Therefore, much of these allocated funds are made up of a large portion of the Librarian Assistant’s yearly pay. Collection management duties are mainly performed by the Librarian with some support from the Librarian Assistant. Therefore, a large portion of these allocated funds indicate much of the Librarian’s salary not dedicated to reference services. Collection circulation is the chief responsibility of the Library Clerk. Therefore, most of the funds allocated indicate the majority of the Library Clerk’s salary ($30k).

Staff development: Twice yearly, the Librarian and the Librarian Assistant attend the Small Business Development Conference. Staff development funds go towards the purchase of passes for this event. The knowledge learned by attending this conference is used in the development of better strategies for reference services and collection management.

Computer equipment/software: The use of computer equipment and software is split among all program categories. The reference services are the services requiring the most active time and material commitment. Therefore, a higher proportion has been assigned to the reference service program category.

New service

Please see Appendix C in the corresponding spreadsheet document for a program budget detailing the costs of the new service within the Bolton Center’s total existing fiscal year 2010-11 budget.

A survey of patrons of the Bolton Center during the previous fiscal year indicated two main desired improvements from the patrons. First, they wished to have easier face-to-face access with the Librarian. Many of them were not able to get to the center during regular operating hours because of their busy schedules. Second, they wished to be exposed to other potential and current small business owners in hopes of learning more from them and seeking potential partnerships (Bolton Small Business Information Center, 2010, p 4-5).

The Bolton Center proposes offering an outreach program consisting of twice monthly evening trips to community centers around Henryville in which the Librarian speaks to prospective and current small business owners, providing them with the encouragement and knowledge to successfully start and grow their own small businesses. The Librarian noted positive interest from such community centers such as the public library, local colleges, and housing community centers as potential hosts. The talks will also serve as a means for like-minded prospective and current small business owner to meet and share their experiences with each other, providing a breeding ground for encouragement, mentorship, and collaboration. The Librarian will provide a short presentation followed by a question and answer session and handing out of relevant pamphlets and forms. The Librarian will house the meetings at the same set of community centers throughout the year to create regular, familiar forum settings in which participants can continually attend.

The new outreach service will fall into the program category of “Public Information.” The new service directly fulfills the city’s goals related to encouraging small business development. The yearly cost of the proposed service is $9,581. The Bolton Center estimates the yearly benefits of such a service to be valued at $50,000.

The costs for the new service include a 5% increase in current supplies, communications, travel, and salary/fringe benefits. Supplies and communications needed for the service will mirror those currently purchased but with a 5% increase. The increase in travel expenses will account for the purchase of gasoline by the Librarian to drive to and from the talks. The 5% increase in salary will be assigned entirely to the Librarian, who will be asked to perform all necessary outreach tasks in addition to current tasks. No computer equipment or software is needed, as all the necessary related tasks can be performed using the currently owned computer resources. The total amount for the new service would provide a 2.72% increase to the total budget of the Bolton Center.

The small business study by the city of Henryville in 2005 estimated that each new small business started in the city grows the city’s economic worth by $10,000 (p. 10). The Bolton Center safely estimates that this outreach service will result in the start of five new businesses each year. The resulting $50,000 of economic growth does not account for the likely growth and resulting increased value of already existing small businesses as a result of the proposed outreach efforts.

Costs:

5% increase in Supplies = $465

5% increase in Phone, fax, postage = $225

5% increase in Staff travel = $100

5% increase in Salaries = $6,370

5% increase in Fringe benefits = $2,421

Total costs = $9,581/year

Benefits:

Five new small business @ $10,000 each = $50,000

Total benefits = $50,000/year

The format of the cost/benefit analysis was taken from the website Mind Tools (n.d.).

Line Item Budget with Reductions

Please see Appendix D in the corresponding spreadsheet document for a line-item budget indicating the differences between the fiscal year 2010-11 and proposed 2011-12 budgets.

In accordance with the Mayor’s wish to cut all unit budgets by 5% for the fiscal year 2011-12, the Bolton Center offers elimination of travel costs, large reductions in staff development, and reductions in materials purchased.

Travel and staff development reductions: The Librarian and Librarian Assistant will no longer travel to the Small Business Development Conference. All travel and staff development costs had been linked to these trips. The Librarian will now instead be provided with $500 per year to participate in online courses focusing on the development of reference services and collection related to small business development. The Librarian will then share new ideas learned through these online courses with the Library Assistant. The above cuts result in a 100% decrease in travel expenses and 83.33% cut in staff development.

Materials purchased reductions: Additionally, the current online subscription to the Database of Federal Grants for Small Businesses will be discontinued. The usage numbers of this resource show patrons and staff access the database only 7.5 times a month on average. Last year’s fiscal year survey of patrons shows that no one had received a grant as a result of the online service (Bolton Small Business Information Center, 2010, p. 13). The yearly cost of the subscription is $13,106, resulting in an 8.4% cut in materials purchased.