Assembly meets to discuss open position at the library

The Wrangell Borough Assembly organized a work session to discuss a recently vacated position at the Irene Ingle Public Library. There are three primary jobs at the library: Library Director, Assistant II, and Assistant I. The "Assistant II" position was recently vacated. It was proposed to promote Sarah Scambler, then Assistant I, up to the Assistant II position. This would leave the Assistant I position open, which the library planned to post as available and search for a new hire. However, several members of the borough assembly expressed some concern about filling this position, thus prompting the work session.

"I want to be really careful, nobody's attacking the library," Mayor Steve Prysunka said. "We're just trying to make sure we have a full understanding."

There were a variety of concerns when it came to this job opening. Some of them included the Nolan Center having more operational needs and fewer staff than the library as well as the necessity of the Assistant I position in the first place. A third point of concern was in regards to the benefits that position received.

According to an information packet for the meeting, Wrangell currently has a policy that permanent, part-time employees like the library assistants receive full-time benefits. The position comes with a salary of approximately $17,000 a year, but according to the meeting's information packet can receive anywhere between $5,000 and $36,000 in benefits. This puts the total compensation cost the borough has to pay between roughly $22 and $53,000 a year.

"I have a problem with 21 hours a day [of work] and full benefits, bottom line," said Assembly Member David Powell. "If you don't work 30 and plus, you shouldn't get full benefits."

One solution was proposed by Assembly Member Drew Larrabee. He suggested that the assembly make both library assistant positions full-time, but then divide their work between the library and the Nolan Center. Library Director Margaret Villarma raised some concerns that the workload and schedules of both facilities could conflict, but Larrabee said that this would be an efficient use of city employees.

While Larrabee was emphasizing the need for efficiency, Prysunka was emphasizing sustainability. Anything that the assembly agreed to today would have to be realistic for the future, he said. With budget cuts at the state level impacting local budgets, he reminded everyone that they needed to be as conservative as possible with Wrangell's money.

"Given what I'm hearing and what I'm experiencing on the state level, I have really major concerns about downstream funding cuts that are coming our way through the state," he said.

Powell pointed out that they were talking about a position during the workshop, and not a person. This was not against anybody, or taking away benefits from someone. It was better to figure out the situation now, he said, than to have to cut back on an employee's benefits later down the road.

After further discussion about the costs of the position and the feasibility of dividing that employee's workload, and even the necessity of that position at all, the assembly asked Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen to put together several possible scenarios of what to do with the assistant position.