After weeks of intermittent closures and reduced operating hours, the North Jefferson County Library Board has committed to hiring more staff members to restore the libraries’ regular services.
“We have been understaffed for years, but now we are so severely understaffed that we cannot keep up with our regular hours and services,” read a July 21 North Jefferson County Library Facebook post.
The post came a week after the library announced their plans to reduce the Clancy Library’s Tuesday hours from 1 to 7 p.m. to 1 to 4 p.m. The library said the hours will restore to normal after Aug. 16. The Montana City Library was also closed July 22 and 23 due to staffing issues.
In the spring of 2020, North Jefferson County Library Director Carly Delsigne notified the board that the Clancy and Montana City libraries were operating with 66% of the the necessary day-to-day staff and 50% of the needed administrative staff, according to a statement from Delsigne and the North Jefferson County Library Board sent to The Monitor on July 27. Additionally, the libraries have an operating budget 37% smaller than those of the Boulder and Whitehall libraries.
A year later, the county conducted a wage study and raised the wage for library aide, resulting in increased personnel costs, Board Chair Jane Hamman told The Monitor. “In an attempt to balance [the 2022 budget] with our revenue—about 11% was cut from personnel hours and 40% was cut from the operating budget,” read the board’s statement. “Trying to operate both libraries with full services with 34% less staff, 50% less administrative staff, and 36% less funding was very difficult, but add in the cuts on top of that—it just wasn’t sustainable.”
To help cover the added personnel costs without cutting an excessive amount of the library system’s operating costs, the board petitioned the county for $34,000, according to Hamman. After negotiations, the county awarded the libraries with $20,000 in funds from the metal mines account. Hamman said the board will likely petition the county commissioners for funds to cover the 2023 budget.
In November 2021, the board hoped to rely on volunteers to fulfill the libraries’ staffing needs and “were reluctant to hire more staff.”
At the board’s May 2022 meeting, it entered a closed session to address tension amongst board members. After 46 minutes of dispute over the previous meeting’s minutes, Jefferson County Human Resources Director Kellie Doherty and County Commissioner Bob Mullen requested that the board enter a closed session to discuss “personnel problems.” Board trustee Scott Erickson made the motion to close the meeting and Beth McNamara seconded it. Before the meeting officially closed, Mullen reminded the board that its purpose is to “be doing good, not arguing.”
According to the public board packet distributed by the Montana State University Extension Local Government Center, closed sessions may occur whenever the board’s conversation pertains to an individual’s right to privacy; however, “the demands of individual privacy [must] clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure.” If the individual waives the right to privacy, the board must discuss the matter in a public session.
Following the 45-minute long closed session, the board re-opened the meeting and invited the public back in. “Hopefully we resolved the issues,” Doherty told The Monitor before the board reopened the meeting. The board then voted to limit Delsigne to 40 hours a week.
During a May 31 phone call, Board Chair Jane Hamman told The Monitor that the purpose of the closed meeting was “to sort out some of the perceptions and misconceptions of library staffing needs.” According to Hamman, the board discussed how many new employees the library district needed and Delsigne’s current overtime hours. Hamman clarified that Delsigne’s excessive overtime was bad for her health and the district’s budget. Doherty confirmed in a June 7 email to The Monitor that the board “did briefly discuss the desperate need to advertise and hire new staff as part and parcel of the closed meeting.”
Delsigne said she preferred not to comment on the matters discussed during the closed meeting.
Following the closed discussion, the board committed to filling two new staffing positions with an emphasis in early childhood literacy interest and expertise for a total of 24 hours. According to the board’s statement to The Monitor, the library has filled these positions. The North Jefferson County Library Board expects to reinstate normal library services before the end of the calendar year.
“We are grateful for your patience over the last few years, and we appreciate your understanding over the next few months as we continue to try to keep both libraries running with as normal services as possible while new staff members are hired and trained,” read the July 21 Facebook post.
The board told The Monitor that it will open to rehire hours for two staff members resigning in the next few months. Additionally, the board has considered the addition of another administrative position.
“This of course does not address the longer term issue of funding, but the board will tackle that over the next few years,” the board said.
