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Library director trims proposed FTEs after commissioners press for restraint; health insurance costs remain
Summary
The public library requested FTE increases and additional maintenance funding but commissioners sought to limit new positions; after discussion the board and finance staff removed proposed new FTEs and kept a partial health-insurance increase for current employees.
Library Director Brooke Blackwell explained the library’s FY18 request to commissioners March 14, including a proposed 0.8 FTE increase for Charlotte Hall and additional hours at other branches, plus an upward adjustment to the library’s OPEB/PEP0 payments to reflect GASB 75 reporting changes.
Blackwell said the library had four staff members switch from no or individual insurance to family coverage in the past year, and that change — together with a recent diagnosis of cancer for a staff member who will be replaced — drove several thousand dollars of predictable health-insurance increases. She also said Charlotte Hall is one of the busiest branches per staff member and requested modest additional hours there.
Commissioners pressed the director to follow the county instruction to keep departmental budgets flat where possible. After discussion, commissioners and library leadership agreed to remove the requested new FTEs from the library request and to retain a portion of the insurance increase to cover known employee changes; Patty Cudmore adjusted the interactive worksheet during the meeting to reflect a lowered health-insurance request (reduced from the initial figure toward $45,144) and removed the new FTEs from the FY18 ask.
Library leaders said they would continue to press for adequate staffing in future budgets but accepted the commissioners’ direction for the current cycle. The library asked the county to note that GASB 75 accounting changes altered required OPEB reporting and that auditors and actuarial reports had produced a modest additional PEGO/PEP0 contribution need.
