Goodnow trustees approve FY26 budget request seeking benefited positions

SUDBURY -- November 3, 2024, Goodnow Library trustees back FY26 budget seeking full-time hires and in-house custodians. The board unanimously authorized Library Director Esme Green to submit a fiscal 2026 request to the town manager that consolidates part-time vacancies into at least one benefited reference position and converts the three-year custodial contract into a town employee role, both pitched as "net zero cost to the town." Office Supervisor Sharon's comparison data shows Goodnow staff on the low end of peer-library pay despite high open hours; Green noted non-union library staff missed out on bumps like the $3,000 firefighters received. Trustees requested $35,000 from the Goodnow Trust, up from $25,000 in some prior years. The board separately criticized an $80,000 design line in the asphalt roof capital request as "on a wet napkin" and signaled it may push to bid the design first. A meeting room rewrite opening the upstairs room to community groups once a week was deferred for a January vote.