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Library director urges council to fund $90,000 social-worker post to relieve staff and connect people to services
Summary
Bangor Public Library Director Ben Trif told the council the library functions as a daytime shelter and that a $90,000 social-worker position is needed to refer patrons to services and free librarians to perform core duties; councilors debated partnerships, ARPA limits and long-term funding plans before approving the library budget.
Library Director Ben Trif told the council the Bangor Public Library has become a de-facto daytime shelter and argued a funded social-worker position is necessary to connect patrons with social-service providers and keep library staff focused on library services.
"If we don't have a social worker, that's gonna be me doing it, and I won't do any library director work," Trif said, explaining that staff are fielding social-service requests that exceed typical library duties. He estimated the total compensation cost for the position — salary plus benefits and insurance — at "about $90,000." Trif said that the post was originally funded by ARPA as a two-year measure, but that ongoing needs persist and that alternatives such as outsourcing or asking partner agencies to station staff in the atrium would either require funded positions by those agencies or risk turning the library into a permanent service hub.
Councilors pressed Trif on alternatives. Some members asked whether the library had developed fundraising plans, cultivated auxiliary enterprises or could rely on partnerships with nonprofits or faith groups; Trif said endowing a public-service position would be difficult and that most agencies are already fully tasked, so partners would likely need new, funded staff to take on the role. Others reiterated ARPA’s two-year expectation and urged the library to build a transition plan if the council approves ongoing funding.
After discussion, a motion to fund the library budget as presented — including the social-worker request — was moved and approved in the workshop roll call. Several councilors asked staff to track outcomes and report back if the position meaningfully reduced other city workload or produced measurable cost offsets.
The council directed staff to incorporate the workshop adjustments into final budget documents that will appear in the Friday packet; any unspent personnel funds will revert to unassigned fund balance at year end if positions remain unfilled.
