‘We’ve done what we’ve been asked’

Editor’s note: The following is the fourth of a multi-part story analyzing the Newton Public Library’s role in the upcoming fiscal year 2021 budget and the proposed cuts the facility may be facing, which may directly affect the city’s acquisition of new public safety positions.

Before the Newton Public Library Board of Trustees carried out its regularly scheduled agenda items last Thursday, the board vice-president Tom Hollander took a brief moment to recognize the three kids who spoke out against the library budget cuts at a recent city council meeting.

The board awarded Mia Van Zante, Karrigan Moore and Nicolas McBride with a certificate and lanyard for the positive things they said in defense of the library, which has come under scrutiny during the city’s fiscal year 2021 budget process.

“I knew that took courage, and I also know it was very important to get up there and participate in a public meeting,” Hollander said. “There were some concerns you had and you expressed those very well.”

At the Thursday night meeting, Hollander reported to his fellow board members the results of a meeting he and library director Nicole Lindstrom had with the mayor and city administrator. Hollander considered it a very good discussion, but it did not go in the direction he hoped it would.

“I’m not going to say I like it, but I think I have a better understanding of where some people on the council and city administrator are coming from,” Hollander said. “I still disagree with some of the comments that were made in the Dec. 19 memorandum. And I called ‘em on it.”

For instance, a section of the memo lists the four top-paid positions in the library are projected to receive total compensations between $96,084 to $127,651, which includes salary and benefits costs. Hollander suggested these numbers are misleading because they were not the actual salaries of employees.

When Newton City Administrator Matt Muckler included in the memo the costs of hiring new public safety personnel — the city council’s No. 1 goal — Hollander argued the costs of benefits were not included. In order to help fund these extra hires, the city claimed the library is overspending based on its “comparables.”

Muckler identified similarly sized libraries in Boone, Burlington, Oskaloosa, Marshalltown, Fort Madison, Muscatine, Ottumwa, Indianola and Fort Dodge are not spending as much as Newton. Again, the library board disputes these figures.

The board said Newton, in some cases, is achieving more than its comparables.

Newton’s adult programming numbers are performing extremely high. Out of the 78 adult programs Newton held in 2018, about 3,011 attended, according to Iowa Public Library statistics. Marshalltown held 120 adult programs with 2,163 in attendance; Burlington held 123 with 3,318 in attendance.

Oskaloosa, Indianola, Ottumwa, Fort Madison and Muscatine held 71 or less adult programs and managed to attract hundreds of attendees. Newton Public Library seems to be excelling. In 2019, Newton’s adult programming increased to 99 and the attendance jumped to 3,551.

Likewise, 257 kids programs were organized and attracted 9,112 to attend.

Looking at staff and wages

At the time Lindstrom was hired, Hollander said council members had allegedly wanted to approach the library board about the range the new director would be hired in at. Evidently there were not enough votes to ask the city administrator to go forward, Hollander said.

Now, there is a feeling among today’s city council that the library’s pay ranges are too high. There was confusion amongst the board of trustees that the city must change the pay plan, which is used for library employees, too. Instead, the expectation was on the library board to reduce the range of library positions.

Hollander said the library board has already taken away money from books and other programs, and now members are feeling pressure to take money off of staff. Library board members say they “get it.” Newton Public Library has four highly paid, mastered positions, but they have remained on staff for a long time.

The library board’s current budget can move forward without changing any professional staff positions. Upon the retirement of Susan Beise, assistant library director and technical services librarian, the library will save $72,117. This takes up the bulk of the library cuts. Eliminating a page position will save $7,350.

Proposed cuts from the Newton Public Library’s budget also includes magazines, serials in Sirsi, association dues, about $6,000 of books, postage and DVDs, among other services like public computer replacement. In total, about $120,817 has been cut from the library budget. Another $30,000 has been reduced, too.

“We’ve done what we’ve been asked,” Hollander said. “It’s stretched. They don’t like shutting down one day a week. They don’t like two weeks off. They’re concerned about no magazines, no books … It’s a heavy-handed way of getting to the library.”

Also of note are the proposed additional $50,000 cuts for the next two years. Hollander said the library board doesn’t have another $50,000 to take from services or programs or resources. It would have to come from salaries.

Lindstrom said Muckler proposed the idea of replacing part-time staff with volunteers to check in and check out books. The library director argued that may not be a viable option. Volunteers would have access to the library’s computer systems with possibly sensitive information, which is of concern to Lindstrom.

“You just can’t get volunteers to work until 8 o’lock at night, on the weekends, on a regular basis,” Lindstrom said. “We do use volunteers when we can. I am working with (a staff member) to come up with a volunteer program with set jobs, but it’s not going to be checking in and checking out.”

Hollander told Muckler the library needs a 20-hour, part-time employee for the information desk, a roughly $25,000 position. Muckler reportedly told them the library board gets an allotted amount. If the board wants that position then it’s going to have to be found in the amount allotted right now.

Lindstrom said there are ways to get the position, but it may come at a cost of dropping current staff ranges.

One month before Beise retires, the library staff are going to work as if she is already gone. They will assume the duties she was responsible. Lindstrom said this will better prepare them for when Beise is gone. Staff, she said, is going stay optimistic, but Lindstrom is going to run some scenarios on salaries.

“Because if worst comes worst … we need to kind of have a Plan B,” she said. “I’m also going to — throughout this next year — be working on, like, what if we have to cut another $50,000 next year? What if council says, ‘Hey, we don’t even want to do $50,000 this year and $50,000. We want you to cut $100,000 again next year.’”

If the library is stuck in another position where the board has “three weeks to make a decision,” Lindstrom said the Newton Public Library will be ready.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com