By T. Scott Boatright
The ever-increasing cost of living affects everything and everybody, including the Lincoln Parish Library.
And that’s why the Lincoln Parish Library Board of Control voted Thursday evening to enter into a contract with Gallagher Human Resources and Consulting Services to conduct a study on the library’s wage scale.
That contract is for $12,745, with results and advice expected within four months.
“Let me point out the reason we need professionals to do this,” LPL Board of Control Chair Bill Jones said. “We can’t just look at other libraries because our employees have skills that are common to many businesses. We are not competing against the Monroe Library, the Jonesboro Library or whatever. We aren’t competing against libraries.
“We’re competing against Lincoln Parish businesses, and that’s why we need this type of information.”
“That puts us into 2027,” Jones said. “I know that. But we can handle that, OK? We can handle that. And I also want to point out that there has not been a month that the library hasn’t had vacant jobs.
“The marketplace has sent us a message. We’ve got good people who work here. … We have to face the fact we’ve got inflation that’s been over 3 1/2% for two or three years and now it’s almost 4%. And that doesn’t just impact us, it impacts the people that work here.”
Library board member Richard Pyles expressed agreement with the plan.
“I think just employee retention is the biggie right now, because we can’t get replacements,” Pyles said. “And this is a step in the right direction to retain what we have left.”
Gallagher’s approach to presenting the report will consist of 12 steps:
- Data collection
- Job documentation review
- Confirm classifications, review and deliverables
- Develop custom market intelligence approach
- Identify benchmark jobs
- Align on compensation philosophy
- Market collection and analysis
- Review and validation of market findings
- Compensation structure development
- Internal equity assessment
- Deliverables review
- Final deliverables
The library board also voted to allow LPL Director Jeremy Bolom to decide whether to keep the library open on Nov. 1 — a Sunday — only two days before renovation work on the facility is expected to begin.
But Jones did present an option other than closing the library that day.
“You want me to float my idea?” Jones said. “We have employees who are working 22-24 hours per week. We can offer them six more hours and we’ll still save on the part-time category. Full-time employees, we could offer additional hours and of course they’re compensated with overtime.
“And then, as a final, hopefully unnecessary backup, we would like the board to consider Jeremy to have the option to close the library the Sunday before the construction starts.”
That motion passed unanimously, with Deborah Gilliam being the only board member absent.
Bolom also reported that $660 came from surplus goods sales prior to the upcoming renovations, in addition to a recent Friends of the Lincoln Parish Library book sale.
