Staff cuts may be on the horizon for the Chatham-Kent Public Library to accommodate the upcoming minimum wage hike in Ontario.
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Librarian Tania Sharpe says every year, every department in the municipality is asked to come up with a certain target budget and save money wherever possible. While this is a normal practice, Sharpe says it gets increasingly difficult to cut down the budget every year and she is worried the minimum wage hike in January will put even more pressure on the library's finances.
"We have been asked to cover the cost internally, within our existing budget, to increase the minimum wage for some of our lowest paid positions, which are non-union," says Sharpe.
According to Sharpe, the municipality is asking library to find "efficiencies" within the base budget to cover the wage increase. She says as a result, the library would have to cut back on essential expenses, such books, equipment, and facility costs.
Sharpe adds that it could also mean a reduction in non-union positions to accommodate the rise in wages. She says ideally, it would be nice if the municipality could offer some help.
"We would like the municipality, and unfortunately, of course that goes to our taxpayers, to cover the wage increases to those particular positions," says Sharpe.
Sharpe says her requests have not gone to council yet because the library still needs to find out the target budget they're supposed to meet.
"Our board chair has written to council and our executive management team to say 'If this is the path we continue on, this is what the effects will be.' It's very early stages of the budget, so I know our executive management team haven't looked at everything and made their recommendations," explains Sharpe.
Sharpe emphasizes that these potential staff and budget cuts would only be on the table if the municipality's decision to have the library cover the minimum wage hike is approved.