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Mayville council tables library pay-for-closure policy after director seeks retroactive pay
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Summary
Library Director Bradford asked the council to ratify a 2022 library-board policy and approve payment for up to three emergency closure days; several alderpersons objected to singling out library employees and the council voted to table the resolution pending handbook review.
The Mayville Common Council on Monday tabled a resolution (6050-2026) that would have ratified a Mayville Public Library board policy allowing pay for full- and part-time library staff for up to three emergency-closure days and would have authorized payment for closures that already occurred.
Library Director Bradford told the council he closed the library on March 16 because of weather and later discovered the library board had passed a motion in 2022 permitting up to three paid closure days in a calendar year. Bradford said some staff had been paid for closures in prior years but the policy had not been fully processed by the council and asked the council to "close the loop" and ratify the practice.
"So what happened was on the March 16, it's a snowy day, and I made the call to close the library," Bradford said, explaining why the matter was before the council.
Several alderpersons said they were sympathetic to paying employees for those closures but worried about creating a benefit available only to library staff. One council member objected that the policy would provide pay to library employees that other city employees do not receive. "I have a problem with the policy. It's just for them," the council member said, asking that the issue be considered as part of a broader personnel handbook review.
Council members agreed there were options — ratify the board decision, extend similar pay language citywide in the personnel handbook, or simply pay the past closure days without ratifying the policy. The council chose to table the resolution so the handbook discussion scheduled for the next meeting can be used to consider a solution that would apply more broadly across city employees.
What happens next: The item was tabled pending handbook review; the council indicated it may revisit whether to ratify the library-board policy, adopt handbook language applying to all employees, or approve payment for the specific past closures.
