Library Director Kevin Davis says that a vacancy created by the recent retirement of a long-time worker in the children’s area at the main library will be advertised and filled soon. Whether two workers laid off this year in budget cuts will get top consideration seems to be an open question.

Here is a recent email exchange I had with Davis:

Q: I hope to find out whether you plan to fill the position of Pat Unnold, who recently retired. Has the job been posted or is it frozen because of budget constraints?

DAVIS: Yes, I fully intend to fill the currently vacant position.  The services we provide to South Portland’s young children are a major part of the library’s overall business, at both library locations.  The loss of Pat has put a crimp in children’s services and programming, and it is essential that we get these services restored.

It has not been posted yet, but should be soon.  The job description is being updated, so that it meets the current needs of the department. We held off on moving too quickly to fill the position until we knew the results of Tuesday’s tax-related referendum questions. Now that we’re clear of those issues, we’re free to move forward.

Q: Will either of the laid-off employees have priority if she applies for the job? Is there a right of first refusal in the first 18 months after a layoff?

DAVIS: As I’m sure you can understand, it would be very inappropriate for me to discuss the hiring of any specific individuals for any specific positions. Nothing I say below refers to any specific employee, past or present, or position, past, present or future.  I will attempt, however, to outline some basic rules we follow.

I’ll also preface this by saying that what I say is all “as I understand it.”  Rest assured that the technicalities of officially offering employment to anyone is handled by City Hall.

All laid off employees who are subject to recall are notified, by the City, of any open positions.

I believe that an employee who has been laid off, subject to recall, has “first refusal” of a job, if that job is the one they had held prior to the layoff.

Per the library’s new contract, “Prior to interviewing outside candidates, employees will be given the opportunity to interview first.”  This means that any current employee (a laid off employee subject to recall is still considered a current employee for this purpose) who is interested in an open position will be interviewed for the position before outside candidates.

With 23 years of service to the City of South Portland, Pat was full time and fully dedicated to serving this audience, so, filling the gap left in her absence is no easy task. I’m hoping that, as we move forward, our youth services department can do justice to Pat’s history with us, as well as blaze a trail toward an evolution of the library’s services, for the benefit of our users.

Comments