BOWLING GREEN — The director of the Wood County District Public Library, who led the library this year through the Dolly Parton children’s book change and a construction project, will see his salary increased.
At library’s board voted Monday to give Michael Penrod a 4 percent pay raise, along with part-time Fiscal Officer Linda Joseph. The library’s 41 staff members are also expected to receive a 4 percent increase for 2024.
Mr. Penrod’s annual salary is going from $101,712 to $105,780.
The board also approved a $3.9 million budget for next year.
Board member Ellen Dalton praised Mr. Penrod for taking the reins of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library when United Way of Greater Toledo decided not to be an affiliate.
The Dolly library provides 4,200 Wood County children one free book each month until their 5th birthday.
“You could have thrown up your hands ... and said, ‘Well, it just didn’t work,’ but you didn’t. You went ahead and tried to work out a plan with the other libraries,” Mrs. Dalton said.
The county will be coordinating the Dolly program for the six other libraries in Wood County, including Way in Perrysburg. It is expected to cost the Wood County libraries a total of $55,000 to continue the Dolly program, which is offered in all 88 Ohio counties.
“It’s an additional responsibility,” Mr. Penrod said after the meeting. “We just met with the folks on Friday from the state office. We’re going to have to figure out what the actual day-to-day work is. They’ve assured us that it’s hours per month, versus days.”
He added that he and his staff never wavered from keeping the Dolly program going in Wood County.
“We’re not going to take books away from the hands of Wood County’s children,” Mr. Penrod said. “Putting a book in a child’s hands is core to what we are and what we do.”
Board member Brian Paskvan cited Mr. Penrod’s leadership through the new parking lot project that was done in conjunction with the city of Bowling Green and its new administration building.
“You were a wonderful leader through that whole process,” Mr. Paskvan said.
The library’s portion of the new lot, which opened this fall, was $147,000.
Board President Ken Frisch said he was impressed with the research done for the new bookmobile, which cost $210,000 and will arrive this spring.
“I had the opportunity, as we worked with the bookmobile, to really see the way that staff input was first sought and extremely valued,” Mr. Frisch said.
Mr. Penrod has been on the library staff for 26 years and has been director for 12 years.
Ms. Joseph’s hourly wage, which also has a base increase in it, is going from $34.24 to $37.39. Ms. Joseph, who works 22½ hours per week, was recognized for the library’s clean audits.
The board also approved creating a $53,306 pool for Mr. Penrod to distribute to staff for raises, based on evaluation and merit.
After the meeting, Mr. Penrod said he expects all 41 full- and part-time employees will receive a 4 percent pay increase.
“I’ve got a great group of people right now. We’ve had so much change over the last few years, and we’ve worked really hard to get to the point where we’re paying competitively and we’re paying appropriately,” he said after the meeting. “And with inflation being 3.7 percent, I just don’t want any of the staff to start to lose what we’ve worked hard to gain.”
Next year, the library will spend $585,000, or 17 percent of its budget, on materials. For the first time, a larger amount is budgeted for digital materials ($275,000) than print ($200,000).
The library’s income includes $1.1 million from a county levy, $1.9 million from Ohio’s Public Library Fund, and $182,000 from the library’s foundation and donations.
Capital projects for 2024 include $350,000 for a heating plant. Mr. Penrod said the system is 21 years old and must be replaced. The chiller plant was replaced in 2019.
Mr. Frisch was elected to continue as board president for 2024. Mrs. Dalton was elected vice president, and Mike Sibbersen is secretary.
First Published December 5, 2023, 6:05 p.m.
