Athens Regional library director asks Madison County to raise starting pay to $15; board seeks options and cautions about parity across county jobs

Beth McIntyre, executive director of the Athens Regional Library System (which serves Madison County as part of a five-county regional system), presented a revised budget summary and asked commissioners to consider increasing starting pay for library part-time staff to $15 an hour to reduce turnover and align library wages with local expectations.

McIntyre said the local branch employs seven people (three full-time, four part-time) and that the library's personnel are the system's most important resource. She said state-mandated health insurance and retirement costs have increased and that the regional office currently pays several benefits and materials allocations on behalf of member counties (including a $6,300 state supplement to the local library manager and 70¢ per capita in state materials funding). "The most important part of the library is our people," she said, asking for increased compensation because many part-time staff start at $10 an hour.

Commissioners thanked library leadership and expressed support for staff, but cautioned that county employees generally receive a maximum of a 3% increase and that raising library wages to $15 could create parity issues across county departments. Commissioners asked for detailed budget scenarios and noted alternatives such as applying for state matching funds for capital repairs (MRR) to relieve building-maintenance pressure. Library board members and staff requested the county consider the personnel request within the budget cycle; no immediate appropriation was made.

The board asked library staff to stay engaged over the budget process and said county staff would evaluate options with the finance office and the county's overall compensation plan.