Austin Medical Center Auxiliary members voted Friday to continue serving meals and employing paid staff in their coffee and gift shop until Dec. 31, 2011.

Members voted 61-8 in favor of continuing the current coffee and gift shop instead of laying off coffee and gift shop staff and ceasing the cooking of meals come Dec. 31, 2010. At the same time, the controversy behind the issue was prevalent at the annual fall meeting.

“Revenue has been flat and expenses are going up,” Rod Nordeng, vice president of organizational support at Austin Medical Center (AMC) and administrative liaison between the hospital and Auxiliary, said at the meeting. “But nobody is looking at eliminating the coffee and gift shop.”

Several Auxiliary members voiced their questions and concerns at the meeting.

“Personally, I think this whole thing has put a damper on volunteering,” Auxiliary member Mae Ashton said. “It’s like we don’t have a choice.”

Janet Borchardt, former Auxiliary president, shared Ashton’s sentiments.

“Is this our thank you from the hospital?” Borchardt asked at the meeting. “I just think that (the proposed changes) are being forced upon us.”

Before the vote, Nordeng explained the proposed changes to Auxiliary members.

Nordeng said AMC has proposed a $28 million hospital expansion, and much of the coffee and gift shop’s future beyond December 2011 depends on whether AMC’s governing boards approve the expansion in May 2011.