Politics & Government

Library Institutes Hiring Freeze

Decision mimics town government decision

Following a decision earlier this year by the town government, the Memorial Library has instituted a hiring freeze.

The decision, made last Thursday by the library board, takes effect immediately and covers all employees, except for seasonal workers. Councilman/Library Trustee Keith Loughlin said he made the motion for the hiring freeze following a discussion at the board meeting about filling the recently vacant head reference librarian post.

"At the board meeting, I was surprised we did not have a hiring freeze," Loughlin said of the library.

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Loughlin's motion put in effect a similar freeze in wording to what the town has been working with since February. All positions will remain vacant unless the library board votes to fill the post. He said all positions deemed necessary for the health and safety of town residents are exempt from the freeze, but noted that the library does not have any job descriptions that impact health and safety. Loughlin noted that the town government has not filled any positions based on this wording.

Loughlin said if it is necessary to fill a position, the library director cannot ask the board to grant an exemption until after the position is vacant for six months and an analysis is completed of the work load with the vacancy. He said employees can be promoted to fill other positions and then leave prior jobs open. He also said workers taking on promotions can still receive additional compensation for the new job.

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Loughlin noted that with state aid to libraries in jeopardy, along with potential changes to the dedicated library funding stream being discussed, it was a good time for the library to institute the new policy. He noted it will likely stay in place until after the town lifts their freeze.

"We wanted to show consistency with other departments in the town," Loughlin said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here