On board with good behavior

POST FALLS — Boards of trustees are situated similarly to a genie in a magic lamp, said a presenter speaking Thursday to Community Library Network trustees.

"All the great powers in the universe, little tiny living space," said Jim McNall, a risk management specialist for the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, or ICRMP.

"That's exactly the way you are as a board," he said. "You have all the power to create policies and direction for the library. The way in which you do that is very, very limited. Your powers are only when you're acting collectively, as a body, at a meeting, dealing with something that's on the agenda."

McNall spoke to the board during a special meeting in the Post Falls Library. The library network is a member of ICRMP, which provides specialized insurance coverage for school districts, counties, cities and other government agencies across the state.

McNall reviewed the roles and responsibilities of elected officials. His presentation included do's and don't's for board members, as well as best practices, procedures and guidelines for a board to be productive while remaining within the parameters of Idaho Code.

"The worst thing that a board member could do — and this is not just true for libraries, it's true for all boards — is to act individually to do something related to employees," he said.

The library network board's main objectives, he said, are policies, hiring library directors and fiscal responsibilities.

"Pretty much everything you do fits into those three categories," McNall said. "Having said that, those are big categories. There's a lot there."

He discussed personnel policies and how to handle employee or board issues that arise. He said when an issue involves the director, it would be sorted out by the board.

"What protects the director from a board that might want to run them out of town?" Board Chair Katie Blank asked McNall.

"Nothing," he replied.

This is when attorneys become involved.

"We see it all the time," he said, adding that the key is, if a board fires a director without involving ICRMP and that former director files a claim, that district has to pay the first $20,000 of that claim.

"That's kind of a big deal," he said.

Ethical breaches, embezzlement, bribery, conflicts of interest and other board no-no's were discussed at length as well.

"Some of the things we see that are unethical: harassment; releasing public records for people who you shouldn't; and not releasing public records," McNall said.

He said how to handle public records requires training.

"The perception of most of the public is a public record is anything you have, and anything you have I can see. We all know that's not true," he said. "Everything you have is a public record if it's about the conduct or administration of the public's business. That doesn't mean it's available to the public."

The next regular meeting of the Community Library Network board is set for 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Post Falls Library, 821 N. Spokane St.

Info: communitylibrary.net