Update on County's 2022 Budget and Implementation of Salary Study

 

Submitted by Anna Lyle

I have some good news about our 2022 funding request—i.e., pay increases for staff! 

First a review: The Library operates on a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30) budget and the County operates on a calendar year budget.  Although the Library is a separate entity from the County, the majority of our funding comes from Forsyth County Government, so their budget process is extremely important to us.  It is our only opportunity to request and advocate for increases in funding for additional staff, pay increases, new services, and operational needs.  We also receive funding from the State of Georgia, but this funding is determined by a formula based on the number of counties and population served.  We have no opportunity to change this amount.

As you know from the March 22^nd blog post about the compensation study, we had a major ask this year.  We requested $502,000 to implement pay increases recommended by the study.  We also asked for $75,000 to increase our electronic materials budget. This amount is a much higher increase than we typically request.

Preliminary versions of the County’s 2022 budget included a $75,000 increase for materials and $218,420 for pay increases, which is equal to a 4% across-the-board increase.  In most years, we would have been very pleased with this, but this fell short of what we needed for more robust increases. 

Now the good news: After months of follow-up and negotiation (with lots of help from Board members), I learned yesterday that the Finance Committee added $100,000 to the amount for salary increases.  This is very good news, but we still need about $184,000 to bridge the gap.  Members of the Library Board feel strongly that the salary study should be implemented as soon as possible and have said they are willing to use fund balance (savings) to help achieve this goal. 

Please note that FCPL will not have across-the-board pay increases in 2022.  The amount of each employee’s increase will be based on the difference between their current pay and the salary study’s recommended pay for their position.  If an employee is not receiving a pay increase due to the salary study, they will still receive a 2% pay increase.

The use of fund balance mentioned above is only a temporary solution, as it should not be used for ongoing expenses (because it would eventually run out).  So, Stephen, Nikki, and I have been looking for ways to realign the personnel budget long-term. 

We are making the intentional decision to eliminate a limited number of vacant positions in order to fund meaningful increases for current staff.  Stephen is working with managers to reduce workload (primarily in the area of programs) to accommodate the reduction in staff.  For now, we are planning to eliminate three 25-hour Info Spec/Youth Spec positions system-wide (one each at three locations).  We are looking at other options as well. 

You may not be sure if this is actually good news.  It is good news!  We are making these changes in order to support and retain existing staff.  The salary study clearly showed that pay increases are warranted for many positions and the Library Board and administrative staff are committed to making them happen.  We are also having difficulty filling vacancies and we hope that more competitive pay will help us with recruitment as well.

Next steps:

·         Yesterday was the first presentation of the 2022 Proposed Budget to the Board of Commissioners.  The budget presented has been developed and recommended by the Finance Committee, which consists of three commissioners and multiple County staff.  It is unusual for changes to be made after this point, but the budget will not be final until public hearings are held and the commissioners adopt the budget.

·         The first of three public hearings will be held on November 4, 2021.

·         Stephen, Nikki, and I will continue to look for opportunities within the Library’s FY2022 budget to bridge the gap between the expected personnel increase ($318,420) and the full amount needed ($502,000).

·         If Library fund balance (savings) is needed to fund the increases, Library Board approval for this use will be requested at the November 15^th meeting.

·         Pay increases would be effective in January 2022, with specific date TBD.

Please know that Mary Helen McGruder, Kristin Morrissey, and other members of the Library Board and staff have worked for months to get us to this point.  We hope to have final good news for you soon.

I will summarize this information again at Staff Day on Friday.  If you have any questions you would like for me to address, please put them in the comments below or send me an email!