Consultant to study pay, benefits for Mahoning library system workers

Consultant to study pay, benefits for Mahoning library system workers

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County has hired a Cleveland consulting firm to study the pay and benefits of library employees compared to those of their peers doing similar work elsewhere.

That firm, The Human Resource Department, will be paid between $12,000 and $13,500 for the compensation study, depending on its scope.

The services and personnel committee of the library’s board of trustees will meet at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at the Poland library to discuss the library system’s compensation philosophy and the compensation study.

A meeting of the full board of trustees will be at 4 p.m., immediately after the committee meeting, and the compensation philosophy is on the agenda for possible adoption at the full board meeting.

“What markets exactly they’re compared against will be determined by the consultant,” said Heidi Daniel, library director. She added, however, that compensation of library employees in the 16-branch system here will be compared to that of their peers in similar-sized library systems.

The local library system’s goal is to be “fair and competitive with our total compensation package,” Daniel added.

“We want to be good stewards of public funds, and we also want our employees to be treated fairly,” said Janet Loew, library communications and public relations director.