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Library director urges keeping 50 weekly hours, flags aging HVAC and staffing gap
Summary
The library reported reaching 50 hours per week and growing teen attendance; the director asked the council to consider funding an additional 7 weekly hours for a senior technician (about $8,165) and warned the 22-year-old HVAC likely needs replacement soon.
The Gardner City library told the council it has expanded services and faces a looming facilities and staffing decision.
The library director said that in FY26 the library opened 50 hours a week for the first time in years — the level the state recommends for a city of Gardner’s size — and that teen program attendance nearly doubled year over year. The director asked the council to consider increasing a senior library technician’s hours from 18 to 25 per week, noting the difference between the departmental request and the mayor’s budget is about $8,165.
The director also called attention to facilities costs: energy and utilities spending to date was reported at $51,610 for FY26 and the library’s general liability insurance was estimated “approximately $19,300 this year.” She warned that the library’s HVAC system is 22 years old and near end of life and will likely require replacement in the near term.
The council acknowledged the library’s role as a community center (program rooms and partnerships with the youth center) and staff emphasized that minimum funding standards for libraries guided the decision not to apply a 3% non-salary reduction to the library budget. Library volunteers and the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library were cited as partners in meeting collection funding requirements.
No formal funding decision was made at this session; staff said they will continue to monitor state aid and revenue projections and follow up on potential budget adjustments in future deliberations.
