The Trustees of the Plattsburgh Public Library take our fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers very seriously.
In keeping with this obligation, we would like to respond to the recent newspaper article "City mayor not happy with Library Board," dated Feb. 8.
The Plattsburgh Public Library operates under a charter from the state of New York. The mayor and Common Council of the city appoint the Board of Trustees, which is the decision-making body, as dictated by the charter. The members of the Library Board of Trustees are unpaid public servants. We are motivated by our love of libraries and belief in the public-library system.
We would like to outline the process that preceded the decision to increase Library Director Stanley Ransom's salary. Mr. Ransom was hired in November 2007 at the rate of $55,000 per year. His predecessor's final salary was $60,000. Mr. Ransom is given an annual performance evaluation. The board feels it is important to evaluate him on an annual basis, discussing performance, achieved goals and future goals. His evaluation has been and continues to be exceptional, especially in the areas of grant writing and new programming.
In 2008, Mr. Ransom obtained $26,813 in grants other than state aid, including a $7,800 Gates Grant to provide the library with nine public computers. In 2009, he raised $18,300 in grants other than state aid. In 2010, Mr. Ransom raised $28,456, including funds for the outside book drop and worked with the Library Board and others to obtain a stimulus grant of $244,517, which enabled the library to set up the Public Computer and Employment Resource Center.
Mr. Ransom was hired at the end of 2007, and his first evaluation took place January 2009. The City Chamberlain's Office told the Library Board that city managers did not receive raises in 2008 or 2009. We felt that in light of this we could not give Mr. Ransom a raise either. We chose instead to give Mr. Ransom an additional week's vacation per year, valued at $1,057, in lieu of a raise.
We discovered in early summer of 2010 that all other city managers had, in fact, received a step increase in addition to the "mayor's stipend of $1,250" in 2009. Mr. Ransom went two years without a raise while all other managers received a step increase and a stipend.
The Library Board decided that it made sense to bring Mr. Ransom's salary up, gradually, to a pay scale suitable to his years of service, educational credentials and a level similar to other city managers. This began with board approval of a 3-percent increase in July 2010.
The board believes the library director's salary should be competitive. We had a very small applicant pool when searching for a director after the previous library director retired, and we attribute this, in part, to the salary offered.
Although Mr. Ransom has been with the library for 3.2 years and should be placed on Salary Scale 4 due to his years of service, the board placed Mr. Ransom on Salary Scale 3, taking into account the extra week's vacation he received. This brought him to $61,501 for 2011.
We used the city's own manager salary scale to determine Mr. Ransom's increase, and it is the board's intention to use this salary scale for future increases.
The mayor has notified the Library Board that he will not support an increase in Mr. Ransom's salary. The purpose of this letter is not to seek a salary increase for Mr. Ransom but rather to explain our position to the public.
Plattsburgh Public Library Board of Trustees members are President Roland Lockwood, Vice President Linda Parks, Secretary Dee Polhemus, Virginia Brady, Harold Brohinsky, Alexander Insley, Dr. Brenda Phillips, John Prim, Judith Rose, Ingeborg Beyer Sapp, Kathleen Schumacher and Christine Suruda.
