Dear Chairman and Board Members:
The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations (the Federation) appreciates the many years of support that the Board of Supervisors (BOS) has provided to the Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL). Recently, the FCPL introduced new policies that the Federation decided to examine. To our utter dismay, the Federation discovered that neither an audit of the system gift fund nor a collection inventory had been made since 1988 – a period of 25 years. The Federation is greatly concerned that:
- With the System Gift Fund growing at approximately $100,000 per annum – totaling millions over the years -- no one knows (i) if and when monies from it were spent; (ii) if monies spent from it were spent according to State Code (which doesn’t allow for the payment of, for example, the “FCPL Staff Day 2014”); and (iii) if all citizen-made bequeaths were properly and fully executed per the giver’s wishes. An audit of the Gift Fund is needed to determine if the funds were properly used per state code.
- Despite the large quantities involved, no one knows (i) if the expenditures, on the order of $30,000,000 per year, were made in accordance with the purpose of the library; (ii) if the estimated inventory of almost 2.3 million books, periodicals, etc., is accurate; and (iii) if the inventory turnover of more than 10% per year is excessive. An audit is required to resolve each of these issues. The Federation hereby submits the attached resolution, unanimously passed by the Federation membership on September 18, 2014, that requests that the expenditures and inventory be audited. We know the BOS will also see the need for these audits.
Respectfully submitted,
(signed)
Frederick A. Costello
Correspondence Secretary
Timothy Thompson
President