[Adopted by Bill No. 81-68;[1] amended in its entirety by Bill Nos. 88-84; 97-17]
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
The Harford County Public Library Board of Trustees
is hereby created as an agency of Harford County, Maryland, pursuant
to the Education Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
A.
The Board shall consist of:
(1)
At least 7 members but not more than 11 members appointed
by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council;
(2)
An ex officio, nonvoting member of the County Council,
chosen annually by the Council; and
(3)
An ex officio, nonvoting student representative, chosen
annually by the Board in the student's junior year to serve during
the senior year, said term to begin in July of each year.
The members of the Board shall be:
[Amended by Bill No. 93-46]
A.
Except for the student representative, each member
of the Board shall serve for a term of five years. At the end of a
term, a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and
qualifies. These terms shall be staggered as required by the terms
of the members serving on the Board as of July 1, 2002. The student
representative shall serve a term of one year and is not eligible
for reappointment.
[Amended by Bill No. 02-21]
B.
A member may be reappointed but may not serve more
than two consecutive five-year terms.
C.
A member appointed to fill a vacancy in an unexpired
term shall serve for the remainder of that term and may be reappointed
to two full five-year terms.
D.
A vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the manner
of original appointment.
Each member of the Board shall serve without
compensation.
A.
(1)
The Board shall meet at regularly scheduled times
at least once each month, except August and December, when it need
not meet. The Board may hold special meetings at the call of the Chairperson
or two or more members. All Board meetings shall be held in a room
that seats at least fifty members of the public. Four members of the
Board are a quorum. All Board meetings shall be conducted in accordance
with the State Open Meetings Act, and the Board may use the Open Meetings
Act Manual published by the Maryland Attorney General to guide it
in complying with the law.
(4)
(a)
The Board shall keep minutes of its meetings
in accordance with the State Open Meetings Act.
(b)
All voting, except in procedural motions, shall
be by roll call, and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in the minutes.
(c)
At least seven calendar days before the next
regular Board meeting, the Board shall send copies of the minutes
of its previous meeting to the Director of Administration, the Administrator
of the County Council and the County Attorney.
(5)
The agenda for each regular Board meeting shall include
at least the following items:
(a)
Call to order.
(b)
Recognitions.
(c)
Approval of minutes.
(d)
Treasurer's report.
(e)
Committee reports.
(f)
Special presentations.
(g)
Action items.
(h)
Old business.
(i)
New business.
(j)
Comments from the public.
(k)
Business from the Chairperson.
(l)
Business from Board members.
(m)
Adjournment.
(6)
The Board shall send copies of its agenda for each
regular meeting to the Director of Administration, the Administrator
of the County Council and the County Attorney at least seven calendar
days before the meeting.
B.
If a Board member fails to attend six or more of the
scheduled meetings of the Board in a calendar year:
(1)
The member shall be deemed to have resigned from the
Board;
(2)
The Chairperson of the Board shall report the member's
name and nonattendance to the County Executive as soon as possible;
(3)
The County Executive may reject the resignation if
the member explains the nonattendance satisfactorily; and
(4)
If the County Executive does not accept the explanation
and reject the resignation, the resignation is effective thirty calendar
days from the date it was received by the Executive.
B.
The Board shall:
(1)
Establish and operate libraries at any location in
the County.
(2)
Determine the policies of the library.
(3)
Adopt reasonable rules and regulations and bylaws
for the use of the library and the conduct of its business, in accordance
with Section 807 of the Charter. The Board may not adopt any rule,
regulation or bylaw that conflicts with the provisions of this Article.
C.
The Board shall:
(1)
(2)
Receive, account for, control and supervise, under
the rules and regulations of the County, the spending of all funds
received by the library.
(3)
Obtain authorization from the County Executive before
transferring appropriations between budget categories in the current
library expense budget.
D.
The Board shall require that goods and services for
the library, including goods and services for capital projects, be
purchased in accordance with the Procurement Law for the County, except
for the following items:
[Amended by Bill No. 97-17]
F.
Audit and annual report.
(1)
The Board shall make an annual report to the County
Executive and County Council on or before November 1 of each year
that shows:
G.
The Board may:
(1)
Accept any gift, grant or appropriation for library
purposes from any person under any appropriate terms and conditions.
(2)
Recommend to the County Executive and County Council
the acquisition, use or conveyance of property for any valid purpose.
(3)
Select the location of and approve plans for the erection
of library buildings in accordance with County laws and regulations.
(4)
Do anything else necessary for the proper control
and development of the library, consistent with County laws and regulations.
A.
The Board shall:
(1)
Select and appoint a professional librarian as Director
of the library.
(3)
By September 1 of each year, complete a written evaluation
of the Director's job performance and forward it to the County Executive.
(4)
Upon recommendation of the Director, confirm the appointment
of any other necessary employees.
B.
The Director's employment contract with the Board
may be renewed only upon the affirmative vote of at least four Board
members during a regularly scheduled Board meeting. The Board may
not agree, by contract or otherwise, to any other method of renewal,
and any such agreement is void.
D.
Each professional public librarian appointee to the
professional library staff shall:
E.
Board employees shall not be considered County employees
but shall be the employees of the Board itself.
F.
Only the Board may terminate the employment of any
of its employees.
The Director of the library shall:
A.
Act as the chief executive officer of the library
and be responsible for the management of its operations in accordance
with the policies approved by the Board.
B.
By November 1 of each year, prepare the annual budget
of the library and present it to the Board for approval.
C.
Nominate for confirmation by the Board all employees
in the library system.
D.
Establish rules and adopt regulations for the use
of the library system subject to approval by the Board.
The Board may use volunteer aides. These volunteer
aides may not replace library personnel but shall assist regular personnel
in carrying out their duties. The Board shall develop guidelines for
the selection and use of voluntary aides in its library system. Volunteer
aides shall be considered agents of the Board for the limited purpose
of comprehensive liability insurance coverage.
