Claremont
“I am very happy,” Smith said by phone on Wednesday, shortly after a visit by McNutt. “He just came over and offered me the job, which I accepted.”
The 62-year-old Smith said she was looking forward to the job and did not want to rehash the last two weeks.
She first thought her job was safe after the City Council approved a budget on June 14.
Then, last Friday, Smith received a notice from the city saying her position as assistant library director/adult services librarian was being eliminated due to “budget constraints” and her last day would be this Friday.
When the City Council had voted to restore funding for a full-time position at the library as part of a nearly $16.4 million budget for the fiscal year beginning on Saturday, Smith and others believed it meant she would remain with the library and transition into the children’s position. But on June 16, a job was posted for a children’s librarian, seeking a candidate with a master’s degree, which Smith does not have. Then came the letter.
“I was dreading coming in here on Friday,” said Smith, who has been with Fiske for 29 years.
Fiske Library Board of Trustees President George Caccavaro on Wednesday said he is relieved to see everything has worked out.
“I’m very pleased. I think there was a lot of heat on (McNutt),” Caccavaro said. “I think it all worked out very well for everyone concerned.”
Previously, Caccavaro said he was angered by the job posting and the letter terminating Smith, but now he, like Smith, only wants to look ahead.
“We got Marta back and that is what we wanted,” he said.
City Councilor Nick Koloski, who voted against the budget, previously had said it was his impression during budget deliberations that restoring the position meant Smith would keep her job.
“I’m ecstatic now,” Koloski said on Wednesday when he learned that Smith would become the children’s librarian.
At Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, McNutt said he spoke further with Smith and it became apparent to him she had the qualifications to serve the library’s children and youth.
“This will be good for the library and the people,” McNutt said, adding that the city will continue efforts to innovate at the library.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.
