Budget Control

The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) shall use for its fiscal year the period beginning January 1 and ending December 31.

For reporting purposes all revenues and expenditures shall be accounted for in the fiscal year in which they are received and/or disbursed.

The Board of Directors of CALS is responsible for approval of the annual budget which shall be prepared by the Executive Director with the advice and consent of the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors, after making any changes in the proposed budget, shall take action on the following items:

  • The General Fund Budget.
  • The Discretionary Funds Budget.
  • The Butler Center Budget.
  • Any capital expenditures outside the General Fund Budget.
  • Authorization of total number of positions by category that may be filled by CALS administration without later Board approval.
  • The number of flex hours that may be filled during the fiscal year (Flex hours are defined as the number of hours per week that may be added to increase the hours of part-time employee(s); hire part-time employee(s); hire full-time employees(s) that may be required because of new staffing needs that were not foreseen in the Operations Budget Salary Line.) Flex hours shall not be used unless the Operations Budget Line has adequate surplus funds to use for the period of time that the flex hours are assigned.
  • The proposed salary increases for the fiscal year.
  • The maximum and minimum salaries for each job classification.

After approval of the budget, the Executive Director has the authority to expend funds in keeping with the intent of the Board as expressed in the budget. Unforeseen circumstances may require the Executive Director to expend funds at a level above that authorized in any budgeted account providing that CALS does not exceed the total budget by category (i.e., salaries and employee benefits, operating expenses, CIP expenses). Anticipated or actual deviations from any budgeted category in excess of 105% shall be reported and justified to the Board of Directors. Specific budget categories may not be exceeded without Board approval. The expenditure of either cash reserves or unanticipated revenue that would be above the total budget must be authorized by the Board of Directors.

The management of CALS is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and monitoring internal control systems for all revenues and expenditures.

Policy Information

Board Policy #201
Board Approval: 08/22/90
Revision: 03/27/91, 04/26/07, 07/25/19
Director’s Recommendation: 08/22/90