Fees for non-resident library cards at Warsaw Community Public Library will increase about 7.5 percent, and Library Director Ann Zydek’s salary for 2018 will top $100,000.
On Monday afternoon, the library board approved changes to the library card issuance policy and Zydek’s salary.
On the non-resident cards, Assistant Director Joni Brookins said, “I’ve got bad news on that one. We have to raise our prices.”
The annual non-resident individual fee will increase from $80 to $86, while annual part-time individual fee (three-month card) will change from $20 to $21.50. The annual family card, which is 2.5 times a single card, will increase from $200 to $215.
“Every year we have to look at the public library statistics that the state puts out, and we are, by law, required to charge for a non-resident card what our library operating expenditure per-capita is. And last couple of years, I think, it’s been right around $80. So that’s what we charged,” Brookins said. “This year, when I looked at the 2016 statistics, we spent more per capita, so $86 is what we’re required to charge.”
She said changes in the cost usually happens every year around this time.
After the board approved those fee increases, Board President Chris Merrill moved on to the 2018 library director’s salary and compensation.
“We have put together a resolution that Ann should continue with receiving the normal 3 percent as the rest of the staff, and we also propose a one-time stipend for this coming year for $2,000. It gives us the opportunity to award you merit for the last few years being that it’s been very rough and you’ve done a really good job of leading us through that; but that also gives us flexibility that if we run into hard financial times in the future that we don’t have to pare down the salary,” Merrill explained.
In 2017, Zydek will earn $98,633. The 3 percent increase for 2018 will increase her salary to $101,592, and the stipend will boost the total compensation to $103,592. The stipend will be paid “in a lump sum after the first distribution the library receives” from the state, Merrill said.
Shown in the chart at right are 2016 Indiana Public Library statistics from www.in.gov, including annual salaries of directors and the number of paid staff.
Zydek has served as library director for almost four decades.
