City council questions raises for library employees

WINFIELD - Pay raises for two Winfield Public Library employees, including the director, has raised the eyebrows of several city council members.

On Wednesday, Feb. 13, members of the Winfield City Council voted to table a recommendation by the library board to give raises to two employees after the library's proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 increased over $7,000.

Council member Jennifer Wade, who had questioned the amount of money being spent by the library during a special budget work session last week, made the motion to table the issue. She questioned a $2 pay increase of library director Jackie Lake, a 13 percent increase, to $16.50 per hour. City clerk Angie Oepping said the council's approval of the pay increases was mostly for the city's audit and the library board determines how much the library employees make. She said the two employees had been getting the increased wages since Jan. 1.

'They said the library's pay is way behind the communities around us,” Mayor Chris Finnell said of the reasons the library board gave for the pay increases.

Wade commented a $2 pay increase seemed excessive. The council members discussed other city employees who had gotten such raises and determined they mostly happen when the employee gets additional training or takes on additional responsibilities.

When Wade asked what would happen if the city voted down the pay increases, both Finnell and Oepping said they would have to look up what would happen.

During a budget workshop on Feb. 6, Wade had questioned why the library had requested an $84,000 budget for the coming fiscal year, a $7,500 increase, when it only made $18,000. She stressed that she approves of the work the library is doing and wants it to continue. Also during the workshop, Finnell had said according to state law the library board was in control of the operations of the library and all the council did was approve the amount of money the city gave the library.

Lake had been at the meeting earlier to give a semiannual report on library operations, but had left before discussion of her salary came up. Finnell, who had planned to attend the library board meeting on Monday, Feb. 11 before it was canceled, asked about several of the library budget items.

Wade asked Lake why the library takes in $18,000 and spends three times that. She asked if the amounts could be balanced better.

'Libraries don't make money,” Lake answered. 'You can say that you are only going to give us so much and we would have to go back and refigure. I guess I don't know what the answer is.”

Lake said the reasons for the increase included increases in maintenance on the library building. She said the building's air-conditioning system needs to be replaced. The increase also includes a $5,000 increase in salaries, which Lake said she has no control over.

The pay increases are expected to be revisited during the council's March 8 meeting.