With the support of the library board, Janelle Miller, Director at Boscobel’s public library, has expanded her quest to bring salaries of local librarians into parity with statewide averages.

Miller originally asked the Boscobel Council’s Finance Committee to budget a 10 percent raise. At the committee’s October 30 meeting, Miller upped the ante to an average increase of 15 percent.

The rationale, Miller told the committee, can be found in a statewide survey of library professionals showing the average pay rates for various positions in Wisconsin libraries.

The survey data is sorted by the size of the community, and divided into a low, middle, and high average wages: statistical sets that are designed to show the range of rates at which Wisconsin librarians are paid.

Compared to that data, Boscobel is shorting its library staff, Miller explained.

“None of us on the staff hits the minimum average pay rate. Nobody,” she told the committee. “So I think that just really shows how underpaid we are. Is there any possible way we could maybe bump the library staff to get within that minimum average range?”

The original 10 percent proposal would have added just over $10,000 to the library budget (not including benefits, which are paid to staff who work more than 20 hours a week). Miller’s new proposal would tack an additional $5,800, for a total of $16,633 additional dollars.

Retention, Miller said, is an issue among her staff.

Other budget increases

Most of the numbers needed to finalize the budget, including the current year actual expenditures, remain in flux, so while the second-round review of next year’s budget moved into initial consideration of department needs, discussions are still preliminary.

In addition to an across-theboard four percent wage hike, asks from department heads included: In the Police Department, increases for office supplies, vehicle maintenance, firearms and ammunition, equipment expenses, and funds for procedures like drawing blood for drug and alcohol testing.

In the Department of Public Works, increases for wages at the pool and at parks and recreation, as well as the park and rec equipment budget; the department uniform fund; and increases for both fuel and equipment repairs. Additional state transportation aid will increase the street improvement budget.

Next steps

The budget consideration process continued on November 1 with a Personnel Committee meeting to review salaries for 2024. The Finance Committee will meet for a final review of the budget on November 8. A public hearing at Common Council is scheduled for December 11.

All council meetings, as well as committee meetings, are open to the public and take place in City Hall.