By Madison Remrey
At last night’s Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control meeting, the board discussed whether or not they wanted to amend a bylaw that says the officers of the board shall not serve more than three consecutive terms, each of which last one year — and eventually voted it down.
In January, the board voted to keep Augusta Clark as its president. It was recently discovered that this year is her fourth year as president and not her third year. This goes against the current bylaw of allowing an officer to serve not more than three consecutive terms.
The board proposed an amendment to this bylaw so that Clark could continue to serve as board president.
One board member, William Jones, said that he was against the amendment due to it breaking his and the board’s promise to serve the public in a fair and open manner.
“I told the people when I was campaigning for the tax, that if they supported the tax, that the library board would exercise proper oversight and management of the library,” Jones said. “We would analyze the best way to use the event center and, most importantly, we would manage this library in an open, transparent, straightforward and business-like manner.”
Jones also said that he believes the board has done a good job at maintaining this promise since January, but amending the bylaw would erase such progress.
“I think in a short time we have created goodwill in our community and have raised confidence in our board,” he said. “But this motion to amend the bylaw, to serve more than three terms, endangers that goodwill and that confidence.”
After much debate, the amendment was struck down in a 6-3 vote and a vacancy of the presidential position within the board was established. The board will vote at the next meeting on who will fill this vacancy. If a new president is not determined at the next meeting, Clark will continue to serve her term until the vacancy is filled.
