Board urged to restore cleaner hours after staff say tasks are going undone

Board members raised concern that reductions in the cleaner's scheduled hours have left routine maintenance undone and that the library may need to fund contract cleaning if hours are not restored. A board member asked whether the library is documenting the time or tasks other staff are spending to cover duties that previously fell under the cleaner's five hours.

Staff responded that the cleaner, Steve, had written out every task and how much time he spends on each duty and that the HR director, Robin, had seen the document. “Steve has written out every he he wrote down everything he does and how much time he has spent on each duty,” the director said. Board members asked staff to continue tracking undone work and to return to future meetings with documentation if restored hours are not granted.

Several board members cautioned that hiring outside contract cleaners often fails to match a long-term in-house solution and recommended continuing to seek restoration of the cleaner’s hours through budget channels.