At a Dec. 18 meeting at the public library, board members discussed the unfilled assistant director post and asked staff to collect data and a duties list so the board can consider whether to recommend restoring the position.

Board member discussion focused on the budget history and operational effects of the vacancy. A board member asked, “On the GEDRA checklist, there's a notation that an assistant hybrid director was not funded this fiscal year? Correct.” Danielle Burns, identified during the meeting as “1 of our librarians,” said part-time positions that had been frozen were restored this year but the assistant director position “has not been reinstated.”

The board heard that Dr. Richard Chamberlain, the city’s director of health services, recently inquired about funding the position for fiscal year 2026. Members asked staff to compile metrics — including program statistics and a list of administrative duties that were redistributed to librarians — and to return with that analysis so the board could review it ahead of summer.

Board members and staff also recounted the last person in the role, Omero Vasquez, who was later promoted and then left; a member noted the position was frozen during prior budget cuts. Meeting participants said the vacancy has affected succession planning and increased administrative work for branch staff.

The board did not take formal action to reinstate the post at the meeting; members directed staff to gather the requested information for a future recommendation.