Audit catches decades-old library practice of being shelf-ish with time

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

For half a century, staff at the Clark County Library have been working part-time hours while receiving full-time county employee benefits, according to a recent audit that has decision-makers scrambling to rectify the issue.

The debacle came to light in early September, when auditors notified county officials that three of the library system’s staffers had been working 30-hour workweeks, and that one staffer at Gurdon’s Cabe Library had been working 27-hour workweeks, while it takes a minimum of a 35-hour week to receive full-time county employee benefits, per county policy.

At a Monday meeting of the Clark County Quorum Court, Tim Kauffman, the newly elected chairman of the library board, said it came to his attention that the shorter workweeks stemmed from an agreement dating to the early 1980s. Echoing Kauffman’s statement, County Judge Troy Tucker later said he found documents dating to the late ‘70s.

To get in compliance with the county’s policy, Kauffman, speaking on behalf of the library board, proposed extending the library’s hours of operation to include Mondays. The Cabe Library would have to be open an additional 9 hours each week. Part of the proposal yet to be resolved is whether to compensate library staff for the additional hours on the clock. It was noted that the library’s budget would and could cover those expenses.

Several justices of the peace voiced concerns over fairness among all county employees, calling on the library board to solve the hour shortage to appease auditors and meet the county’s policy requirements. Some justices wanted the snafu solved immediately. Judge Tucker assured the court that auditors don’t expect an immediate fix.

It was resolved that Kauffman would pitch the proposed options to library staff, and that all full-time staffers would be working 35 hours by Oct. 1.