I am originally from Seattle and as I was looking online for some

examples of library operating budgets available to the public I came

across the King County Library Systems budget plan for the 20132014 fiscal year. King County is the county I grew up in and
encompasses the greater Seattle area, and its budget plan is the plan I
will be examining in this paper.
The King County budget plan appears to utilize a line-item or
incremental budget plan. Incremental budget planning utilizes past
periods figures and allocates funds according to past numbers.
Managers will increase or decrease funds by a certain percentage that
are allotted towards a certain area based on the results achieved in
past periods (Budgeting, 225). On page 14 of the King County budget
plan, a chart indicates that the total budget for the 2014 fiscal year is
$45,000,000. The chart also shows the budget for 2013 and the
forecasted budget for 2015. One can see that the budget for the 2014
fiscal year in each various area in which funds are allocated has been
increased by a certain percentage from 2013 and again is projected to
increase by a lesser amount for the 2015 year.
The main source of revenue discussed in the plan is growth in property
valuations. Due to an improving economy and low inflation, the
budget plans for 5-7% of growth in revenues due to property valuations
and opportunities for targeted investments (12). Discussed as sources
of expenditure but ultimately meant to be sources of revenue are
budget costs such as adult programming, choice reads, and bibliocommons (5). KCLS allocated $56,000 for the three above-mentioned
programs that were intended to increase patron participation in and
awareness of library activities and events, thus ultimately resulting in
increased patron library usage.
The major expenditures budgeted for the King County Library system
in 2014 are salaries ($47,286,380), personal benefits ($17,276,618),
and materials ($11,378,655). The budget allocated to salaries
increased by 3.9% and the budget for benefits increased by 7.5%. This
may reflect positive employee retention or an increase in number of
hires during the 2013/2014 fiscal year. The materials budget makes up
the largest part of the allocated funds for the 2014 fiscal year after the
employee salaries and benefits; materials would include core
expenditures for the library system such as books, journals and other
resources that are not included specifically in the budget. The total
budget for 2014 for the KCLS is $45,000,000, which increased from
$42,600,000 from 2013. Major changes in the budget are the increase
in salary and benefits, as well as an increase in programs and building
leases. The budget for programs increased by 13.2% from 2013 to
2014 and the budget for building leases increased by 10.9%. The KCLS

document discusses that a large portion of the budget will be allocated

to new programs such as CommunityConnect ($15,000) and Lets
Read! (over $50,000) that are meant to get new patrons and young
children involved and active with libraries throughout the Seattle
region (2).
The primary fixed expenses for the library system are also the major
expenditures: salaries and personal benefits. Though new hires may be
introduced periodically, the number of employees that a library or
company has is typically constant and salary payments can be planned
for in advance. Employee benefits are also fixed and can be budgeted
at the beginning of the fiscal year. Other major fixed costs include
utilities and insurance. Variable expenditures include repair and
maintenance, supplies and advertising. Advertising may vary
depending on what new programs and events arise throughout the
year and how much the library decides to
advertise each one and where. Typical problems that frequently arise
that cannot be planned for are library building maintenance issues that
may require parts to be replaced or refurnished; additionally, supplies
purchased for libraries will be affected by normal wear and tear by
users and will regularly need to be replaced. Such expenses may not
be fixed but should be considered in the budget.
The KCLS document is mainly narrative that concludes with two pages
of budget charts. The narrative explains the major goals for the library
system for the 2014 fiscal year as illustrated in the charts at the end.
Initially the document discusses the new programs that King County
would like to develop in order to increase patron knowledge of and
interaction with Seattle-wide libraries. The budget document
continues to discuss highlights of the budget expenditures, including
the purchase of updated book titles and eBooks, electronic programs
being implemented, new staff and training development programs, and
new building development initiatives. The plan successfully walks
through the budget numbers for the 2014 fiscal year, discusses how
the library system intends to achieve those numbers through the
implementation of new programs and by spending money on what
resources, and ultimately projects a fiscal plan for the following two
years.
Sources:
http://www.kcls.org/about/budget/2014%20Final%20Budget
%20WEB.pdf

Budgeting. (2004). Managers toolkit: the 13 skills managers need to

succeed (pp. 217-241).