Residents, trustees discuss restoring evening and Sunday hours; staff safety and funding cited as constraints

A resident urged the Portage County Public Library Board of Trustees on Jan. 15 to consider restoring evening and Sunday hours, prompting a detailed board discussion that focused on staffing levels, public demand and funding constraints.

Board member and staff accounts established why hours were cut and what it would take to restore them. "Hi. My name is Neil Prendergast. I'm a resident just a few blocks away," said Neil Prendergast during public comment, asking what would be necessary to expand evening and Sunday service. The board and library director responded that the two clearest paths are additional funding or reallocating existing resources.

The director said expanding hours would most directly require new resources. "There are a few things that could happen to enable any of those. 1 is an increase in resources provided to the library. That would be the most straightforward way that that could happen," the director told the board. Trustees and staff agreed that returning to pre‑COVID hours would likely require hiring one or more additional staff members and addressing security coverage for later hours.

Why it matters: patrons and community organizations regularly request later and weekend hours, but trustees said the board must weigh public interest against staff safety, county funding limits and competing priorities. Several trustees and staff noted the county’s overall budget constraints and that some countywide funding decisions are outside the library board’s direct control.

Key points from the discussion: - Safety and staffing: Trustees said earlier evening service historically required more than one staff member on duty; staffing a single late shift was described as unsafe and a deterrent to hiring. One trustee said spouses had discouraged applicants from accepting positions that included solo evening shifts. - Funding and county limits: Board members noted the library’s operating budget is constrained; even when staff pay rises have occurred, the operational budget has not kept pace with inflation. The director added that state and county rules (and a large county infrastructure project and levy limits) can limit the county’s flexibility to increase library funding. - Measuring demand: Board members debated the value and limits of public surveys. One trustee cautioned that surveys often produce positive responses but low follow‑through; the director and others said anecdotal correspondence and repeated public comments show sustained interest. Trustees asked staff to produce a cost estimate showing what it would take to restore pre‑COVID hours and to identify which specific evening or weekend shifts would provide the most public benefit.

What’s next: The director said staff will calculate the estimated additional personnel, security and facility costs to restore selected hours and present those figures at a future meeting. Trustees suggested any public polling should be deployed carefully because a survey can create expectations that the board or county can deliver funding even when larger fiscal constraints exist.

Ending: The discussion concluded with agreement to return with numbers for board review and to continue balancing patron demand, staff safety and county budget realities.