The first-round preliminary budget for the City of Boscobel includes a 10 percent increase in wages of the library staff.
The growth is intended to bring salaries in line with neighboring municipalities, and to compensate for the fact that in the past, library staff have missed out on pay raises granted to other city employees.
Library director Janelle Miller points to a statewide survey of compensation at libraries in various regions; Boscobel consistently falls below the “minimum average” of those hourly rates.
Locally, Boscobel’s wages lag behind library staff in neighboring cities including Fennimore, Lancaster, Mineral Point, and Ellsworth, according to statistics gathered by Miller.
“It’s been a problem retaining staff in the past, especially when you’re starting out at minimum wage,” Miller said in an interview. “Our overall goal is to pay our people a livable wage.”
Currently vacant is a circulation clerk position that starts at $10 an hour, which lands between $2 and $4 less per hour than other libraries in the region. Most of Boscobel’s city employees earn upwards of $22 an hour, according to budget records for the city.
In addition to Miller’s fulltime position, the library employs four part-time employees. Increasing their salaries by 10 percent would add about $12,000 to the city’s bottom line.
“More than books”
Miller stressed that the library serves a unique function in the city: In addition to books, the library hosts classes and events for kids and adults.
Examples include crafting groups, homeschool meetings, and educational gatherings for new mothers. Southwest Technical College maintains a presence in the basement of the building, assisting adult learners in topics like GED prep and technology training.
She said the facility closes the gap in internet connectivity by providing free high-speed wireless to library cardholders.
“We’re always busy. There’s always something going on here and there’s something for everyone,” she said. “People need to think about the library differently. It’s more than books. We’re really a kind of community center.”
Strong financial position
The push for parity at the library comes as Boscobel contemplates a budget year with considerably more cash on hand than in years past.
That’s largely thanks to the State of Wisconsin, which earlier this year decided to dole out some of its $7 billion dollar surplus to municipalities that have struggled to make ends meet.
This year’s city budget ran at a deficit, which City Administrator Patricia Smith expects to be balanced by the end of the year, thanks in part to higher returns on city investment accounts.
Smith cautioned that the preliminary budget for next year is still in its infancy. She presented initial figures to the council’s Finance Committee on October 18. A second meeting of that body is scheduled for October 30, with final passage slated before the council on December 11. All meetings are open to the public.
Those initial numbers included nearly $1.5 million in state aid—an increase of about 17 percent over last year’s aid.
In addition to the library wage hike, Smith’s initial budget plan included a 4 percent increase to wages across the boards—a figure that’s tied to the wage structure negotiated by the police union.
Other increased costs anticipated this year include a part-time utility clerk position, increased contracts for services including assessment, and increases in payments for benefits.
The Boscobel and Rural Fire District is also raising its assessment (see story, this page). The City of Boscobel is responsible for half of that increase, a number determined by the market value of the property protected by the fire department.
The next phase of the process involves department heads submitting proposed budgets, to be presented at the next finance committee meeting.