Correction: This article originally stated the library board had decided to appoint an acting director internally. The board has not yet pass a resolution to do that, but is investigating that possibility.
The Great Neck Library’s personnel shake-up continued at Tuesday night’s meeting, as the board decided to recruit a consultant to help direct the library in the absence of outgoing director Jane Marino and announced it had narrowed the search for retired board member Martin Sokol’s replacement to two candidates.
Marino, whose departure was publicly announced at a board meeting in early December, will leave her position Dec. 28 following the expiration of her contract.
The board intends to investigate the possibility of appointing an acting director internally and resolved to interview candidates for a consultant to assist with the director’s duties until a permanent replacement can be found.
“We are aware that we are behind where we want to be with all these issues,” said board President Varda Solomon, who, along with the other trustees, received Marino’s 90-day notice in late September.
Reaching the decision to hire a consultant was not easy, and followed an extended and often convoluted debate over whether to interview outside candidates to serve as interim director or promote from within.
The board initially considered hiring a consultant who would perform all the duties of the director, before business manager Neil Zitofsky said any interim director would have to be a employee, not just an independent contractor – a distinction with tax and benefit package implications for the library.
Debate continued over the possible hours, schedule and salary of an interim director, with Trustee Marietta DiCamillo suggesting the board make it an hourly position and Trustee Janet Esagoff dissenting.
“I would like to see the person in a full-time environment where they could conceivable move to a full-time position,” Esagoff said.
Complicating the discussion was the fact that the board had already reached out to potential candidates prior to passing a resolution defining the position, setting its compensation or authorizing the board to hire new staff.
Solomon said she had already called the Nassau Library Association and taken the names of recently retired library directors who might be open to serving as interim director.
“We reached out to people we knew,” Solomon said. “The emphasis here is on ‘interim.’”
That explanation did not satisfy former Trustee and building advisory committee member Ralene Adler, who has often been a vocal critic of the board.
“You haven’t followed any of the protocols you insist the staff follows… you haven’t done anything publicly,” Adler said. “The business manager just told you, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
After several minutes more back-and-forth, former nominating committee member Michael Fuller suggested the approach that eventually won out – possibly appointing an internal acting director and hiring a consultant to assist as needed.
“[The consultant] doesn’t have to be there to run the building every day,” Fuller said.
The board authorized itself to interview for a consultant to work up to 20 hours per week for between $50 and $100 per hour.
The effort to replace former board Vice President Martin Sokol also took another step forward, as Solomon said the nominating committee had recommended two candidates for consideration.
Solomon would not disclose the names of the candidates, but said that the board was postponing its decision on who to appoint until next month to remove any appearance of conflict of interest.
“We were considering two resumes and one of those resumes had a previous affiliation with the nominating committee,” Solomon said.
The candidate in question resigned before the committee’s meeting and did not participate in any interviews, according to a nominating committee member in attendance.
As the meeting ended, the board recognized Marino for her service as director, giving her a round of applause.
Marino said last week she is leaving for primarily personal reasons, and will search for library employment closer to her White Plains home.
