Concerns raised about Kingston Frontenac Public Library unstaffed extended hours
Global News
A $100,000 extended hours project set for the Pittsburgh branch in Kingston's east end has been criticized by a city councillor because it will not be staffed.
On Nov. 25, Kingston city council approved the Kingston Frontenac Public Library budget with a vote of 11-2.
One of the dissenting councillors is Jim Neill because of $100,000 set aside for an extended hours pilot project at the Pittsburgh library in Kingston’s east end.
Neill says he’s concerned because the extended hours won’t be staffed.
“I’m sure that will be problematic to the workers, to the union and may well trigger a strike when negotiations open again,” said Neill.
Kingston Frontenac Public Library’s chief librarian and CEO, Laura Carter, says there will be no loss of jobs or changes in staffing levels.
Carter says the goal of the pilot project is about increasing access, which is what area residents have been asking for.
“We’ve gotten pretty clear direction from the city of Kingston — County of Frontenac, primarily; we do get some money from the province — that we can’t expand our operating budget, so how do we provide extra hours and extra service within the budget constraints that we have?” said Carter, explaining the motivation behind the project.
Neill says the Kingston Frontenac Libarary Board should still have appeared before council asking for an operating budget to increase hours at the Pittsburgh branch.